Somewhere Only I Know
by Summer Bennett
Summary: Cat is Beck and Jade's daughter - but they don't know she is. When Cat is sent back in time for bullying, she has to deal with unimaginable consequences, while subsequently discovering what real love is. Very AU.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Yeah, it's not mine.

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><p>They all sat around in silence. I knew what they were all thinking. They were all judging each other. Just like they judged me everyday. I'm stuck here. I'll always be stuck here. Another year went by. Still no progress. It's not like they're going to help. It's not like they know. I'm just Cat. I'm just that girl who they have to be friends with simply because I won't let them get away. I liked Tori. I knew that she would help me in some ways. I knew that I couldn't flat-out tell her my situation… But she could help. I knew she could.<p>

Tori's my dad's best friend. I remember her from his stories. He'd always talk to me before I went to sleep. He'd color pictures with me and sing me lullabies before bed. He loved my momma too. They were always so affectionate around each other. I hated it so much. I'd always wanted them to just go to separate corners of the living room and stay there until I left. But now… now I'd do anything for them to kiss each other.

My momma. She was a great mother. She'd smooth down my hair whenever I woke up and help me get ready for school. She was my best friend. She'd always worn clip-in colored hair extensions. And I guess she does now too. She'd even bought me some for my fifth birthday. I remember them… They were bright red. I'd begged momma to let me dye my whole head that color. It took a little pleading on my part, but it was worth it. I loved my red hair.

My life was perfect. It was more than perfect. I'd had a family who loved me. I'd had a family who loved each other. It was just me and momma and dad. I miss being in my dad's arms when I was upset. I miss singing Billy Joel songs with my momma during our Summer road trips. I miss shuddering at momma and dad whenever they kissed. That was my life. And I just miss it.

It's not the same here. I know that it's a sign from God. I should've been a better person. I shouldn't have been mean to that little boy. He had just wanted a friend and I should've been one to him. I know what it's like to be an outsider now. No one really wants to be my friend here. I'm just Cat. I made fun of that little boy's hair. It was all frizzy. And I had mocked his glasses too. How he smelled. I shouldn't have been so mean to him.

I knew that this was my payback deep down. Words speak louder than actions. I knew that God had placed me back in time to teach me a lesson. It's not nice to be mean. I get it now, God. Why am I still here? I promise I've learned my lesson. People are cruel. They're even crueler in this era. I've been here for eight years. Eight torturous years of being placed into this random family. I have a brother in this era. I don't get to see him much. He's always in his room. He always has a paper bag over his head. Almost like he's ashamed of himself.

I caught him without the bag on once.

_He had been reading something. I came into his room without knocking. I had figured since the door was partially opened, it wouldn't hurt. He had freaked out. I saw what he looked like, though. He was screaming at me to get out, but I just stood there in shock. He had brown, shaggy hair that hung over his eyes. But his eyes shown through in a bright shade of gray… If that's even possible. His face had a few marks on it. I assume some were from acne, but one was a big gash right below his eye. It looked like a scar that had been there for a while. It was barely visible, but I was studying him deeply at the time. _

And then I had been forcefully removed by his foot. I guess my parents here, Lisa and Matt, aren't that bad. I mean… They feed me and make sure I'm properly clothed. They wake me up and buy me decorations for my room. But sometimes I think that I'm just their job. It's like they look after me for a day, go to bed, wake up and start off with an another-day-another-daughter-to-look-after attitude. They don't love me like momma and dad did.

And my momma and dad aren't speaking.


	2. Cheers

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine. No progress in this area.

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><p>I'm not quite sure when my momma had changed. She didn't act anything like she did now. Now she was always yelling at everyone. She even insulted me sometimes. And you probably don't know what that's like. To always have your <em>mom <em>insult you. But I guess in her defense, she didn't know she was my momma. And I just couldn't tell her. I wanted to tell her so badly.

I couldn't, though. They'd think I was a goony loon. I just needed to go with the flow. Even if the flow has been going one mile per hour for almost eight and a half years. My life is depressing. I glumly walked to the Wahoo Punch vending machine and waited for my beverage to be dispensed. I bent over and rolled it around in my hands. Ugh… I'm too depressed to drink something so cheery. I dropped it into the trash, feeling bad about wasting my 'dad's money. But hey, they don't care about me so where's the guilt in that?

"Cat?" I heard her voice from behind me.

I quickly swerved to face her. She was going to make fun of me. She always did.

"Why did you just throw your drink in the trash?" she questioned.

Great. I don't even need to say that I'm her child from the future for her to think I'm a lunachick.

I can't tell her why I'm upset. I can't. I want to so bad. I can't. "Because I wasn't thirsty," I replied lamely.

She stared at me for a moment. I don't blame her. That was an awful last minute answer. "You… But, I mean, you bought- forget it," she stuttered before closing the topic.

Thank God.

"What are you doing Saturday night?" she asked.

It was weird. She seemed genuinely interested. I hadn't spent a lot of quality time with my momma here. She never wanted to be around me. I thought about her question. Well, fantastic. The one time that I can possibly spend with my momma, I have to spend watching an animal.

"I'm dog-sitting for my mom's boss," I replied, trying not to show my sadness. I attempted a smile to cover the sorrow that was about to overtake.

"Oh," she said. I couldn't read her emotions. I think she was annoyed. But she sounded upset too. "What kind of dog?"

"I'm not sure," I said, pulling out my lip gloss from my back pocket and applying it to my lips. Anything to distract me from what I could've been doing this Saturday night. "He's got paws and a tail," I said. Alright, maybe I was a little too distracted. I put the lip gloss down and thought about what the dog was. "Maybe he's an English Pawtail!" Oh no, that's not a dog, is it?

I turned slightly to put my lip gloss in my back pocket, but I still heard momma huff in annoyance. It stung. "Why, what are you doing Saturday night?" I asked.

"Oh what? What, you think that 'cause because Beck and I broke up, I don't have anything to do Saturday night?" she sneered.

I can't get used to calling him Beck. He was my dad. Just like she was my momma. I miss home.

I quickly defended myself. "No, I never said that…"

"I got a lot of things I'm gonna do!" she interrupted. "Like tons!" she emphasized.

"Okay…" I replied, kind of afraid. I thought she was trying to be my friend. I mean, I didn't want to be her friend. I wanted to be her daughter. But her friend was the closest thing I could be right now.

"I mean if you want me to cancel my plans and come hang out with you while you dog-sit, then fine!" she yelled. We stood in silence for a moment while she toyed with her bag. "Fine, I'll do it."

I didn't want her to be upset. She doesn't deserve to be upset. "You don't have to…"

"I said I'll do it!" she snapped at me.

I looked at her, stunned. So I was spending Saturday night with her… I guess it won't be as terrible as I thought.

She took a step closer to me and pointed her finger. "But _you _owe me, baby girl," she said, before walking off.

I slightly smiled to myself. That's what she used to call me sometimes. I was her baby girl. I hope I could call her momma soon. "Thank you!" I called out to her.

She didn't answer. But I saw her walk by dad without so much as a 'hi'. I want to go back home and be eight.


	3. Sincerity

Disclaimer: Dang, it's still not mine.

I love your reviews so far, everyone. The word 'interesting' is thrown around a lot. Yeah, I think so too. :)

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><p>I was sitting with Tori outside. She was eating her turkey sandwich in humongous bites, like if she didn't eat the whole thing in under a minute, she'd be disqualified from life.<p>

"Hey, Tori?" I quietly asked. I was afraid she might eat me.

"Mphdism," she mumbled at me through bites.

I looked at her for a second. "Never mind."

I saw Robbie walk over to us from Festus's truck. He plopped down next to me and started picking at his French fries.

"Hi," I offered brightly.

I liked Robbie. He was weird. Safe to say that we have that in common.

"Sup, Kit?" he responded.

"It's Cat," I responded, oblivious. I questioned his sanity for a minute.

"No, I mean, it's like a nickname and… Never mind," he turned his attention back to Tori, who was still utterly unaware of her surroundings.

"Tori?" he asked.

Before I had a chance to hear Tori's response, I saw my dad coming towards us. I smiled. At least I could call him that in my head. He sat in between Tori and I and stared at his pizza for a full minute before looking up at the rest of us. He didn't touch his food, just sat there, staring at it.

I didn't even get to hear his voice before I felt my arm being tugged on. I looked up to see momma glaring at me. Her eyes were telling me to follow her. I grabbed my can of Wahoo Punch and got up. It bothered me that she still didn't even say hi to dad. She shoved me all the way to the table farthest away from my friends. I could feel someone's eyes on me. I angled my body so I could still see them. Dad was watching me.

"So what's up?" she asked.

It wasn't a casual greeting. It was like she was demanding information.

"What do you mean?" I asked, somewhat fearfully.

"What were you guys talking about?" she asked again.

"Nothing, we were just…"

"Don't lie to me, Cat!" she interrupted. I squeaked a little. "I know that you guys were talking about me so don't just sit here and tell me that you weren't talking about nothing!"

"Jade, we really weren't talking about you, we were just…"

"Drop it!" she shouted.

"Okay!" I yelped.

She stared at me for a minute. I made sure to avoid eye contact. I pulled out my cell phone in case I needed to call the police. Ya know… For reasons.

"Are you still dog-sitting this Saturday?" she piped in.

"Yes," I responded carefully.

"What's his address?" she asked, pulling out her phone.

"He's on P. Sherman 42, Wallaby Lane," I answered.

She repeated me as she typed the information into her phone. I was kind of afraid of having momma at my mom's boss's house. It was gonna be a long night and she might get bored and leave me there. I wish I didn't have to dog-sit.

I looked at my Wahoo Punch can before lifting it to my lips and keeping it there. I tilted my head back and downed the whole thing. I could feel her watching me. I could feel dad watching me. Why does everyone choose to watch me especially when I feel like I'm gonna erupt in tears?

When I realized that there was nothing left in the can and I was just holding it to my lips, I set it back down on the table and wiped my mouth with a napkin. I stuffed the used napkin inside of the can and threw the can into the trash about five feet away. I put my arms on the table and covered my head. Let me fall asleep and never wake up.

I felt her hand on my arm. "Cat?" she asked cautiously.

"Whatty?" I whined.

"You're making a scene," she said.

I lifted my head and glared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" I quipped.

"Nothing, I just don't think that you should do this right now…"

"You're so mean to me!" I yelled. I stood up and walked in the opposite direction.

"Cat!" she called. She didn't chase after me, though.

I felt my dad staring at me as I walked right by him. He grabbed my arm, but I shook him loose, continuing towards the school.

I thought I was alone. But _he_ had chased after me. Glad to know he still cared about me.

I slumped against the nearest row of lockers and slid to the floor.

He stood above me. "What'd she say to you?"

I looked up at him. "Nothing… She didn't say anything to me," I said.

I wasn't lying. She didn't say anything to me. I just can't take it. I felt him sit down next to me against the lockers.

He put his hand on my knee. "You wanna talk about it?"

I looked at his face. Sincerity was actually there. "No," I responded.

I felt his arms wrap around me after a moment. And for a second… I could almost picture being back home.


	4. Whimpers

Disclaimer: Really not mine. If you don't believe me, read the word 'disclaimer'. If you want to review it, feel free. I'm allowing anonymous reviews so **everyone can even if you don't have an account. **Now on with the story!

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><p>I told momma that I couldn't pick her up. It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a lie. I decided to walk. My only other alternative was taking the bus, and the last time I did that, I ended up practically sitting in a homeless man's lap. I'd rather take the risk of walking. I showed up at the house way earlier than her. It gave me time to walk around and see what was up. My 'mom's boss sure had a lot of collectables. I guess it wasn't as many as you would expect from someone so rich, but there sure were a lot.<p>

I maneuvered my way down the hallway, making sure not to touch absolutely anything. I didn't even want to touch the walls. It was like everything was made of lava. I smiled a little to myself. I used to play that game with dad. I still remember every little thing that I did with them that I probably won't ever do again.

Cooper yipped at me from his little doggy bed. I guess he was kind of cute. I honestly didn't like little dogs very much. It was like they needed to bark at every single thing that was bigger than them. But Cooper… I guess he was decently well behaved. I sat down next to him and he immediately rolled over onto his back. I giggled and ran my hand across his belly in different patterns. I patted his stomach and stood up, walking to the other side of the room.

Elvis's guitar. That must've cost an absolute fortune. I placed my hands _around _it like a mime. I wasn't touching it. I was just thinking that if even the feel of my breath made it fall, I could catch it. I was self-conscious of this place. I was a terrible person to dog-sit Cooper. Cooper's the only thing here that I'm not afraid to go near.

I sat down on the couch much more gently than I do at my house. I refuse to call it my home. Cooper pranced over to me and hopped up on the furniture.

I panicked a little. "Oh, are you allowed up here, pup?" I asked like he would answer.

He licked my hand as I felt my heart melt a little. "Well, just… C'mere." I pulled him onto my lap so he wasn't _really _on the furniture. I guess I couldn't get in too much trouble.

He squirmed around in my arms and licked my face. "Aw…"

"Cat! Yo, Cat!" I heard her yell.

I looked down at Cooper. "Ooh, it's… Jade…" I corrected myself mentally. "In here!" I called out to her. I focused my attention back down at Cooper. "_Jade _seems really mean, but don't worry… She is."

I kissed the top of his head. He really was cute.

"Hey," she greeted coolly, looking around the main room.

"Hi!" I responded joyfully. I was really happy to spend some time with her, even if I was a little afraid of being here. "Say hello, Cooper!" I held him up in my arms. "_Hello_," I said for him, waving his paw.

"Sick place," she complimented. "Your mom's boss must be like a bazillionaire," she said as she walked around.

"He is!" I confirmed. "He owns a really fancy car and part of Texas," I explained further. Cooper started licking my face again.

She looked at me oddly. "He owns _part _of Texas?"

"Yeah, but just like… The top part." I really should've studied my facts.

She turned around and saw the guitar hanging from the ceiling. I hope she doesn't touch it. "Whoa!" She continued to rave about how awesome the guitar was. I really didn't know what she was talking about. I don't even play guitar. "Like Elvis used to play!"

"That _is _Elvis's!" I said, mentally adding _don't touch it _repeatedly.

"Shut up," she said in disbelief.

"Look what's written on it!" I told her. I hated when she told me to shut up, regardless of what context it was used in.

She read it aloud. "Thank you. Thank you very much. Elvis Presley… Holy chizz!" she said. And then she did just what I've been pleading her not to do.

"Don't touch it!" I begged out loud. "Come sit," I patted the spot on the couch next to Cooper and I.

She reluctantly walked around the couch and sat down next to me. She diverted her eyes towards the TV screen where Hungry Girl was playing. I smiled. "Yay, we're hanging out together!" I went to put my arm around her. It would've been nice if she hadn't scared me half to death.

"NO!" she roared.

She always did that.

The dog whimpered in fear and I comforted him. Ya know, as much as I could comfort him saying that I was close to whimpering too.

This was going to be a fun night.


	5. Shattered

Disclaimer: Wow, still not mine.

Remember, **EVERYONE CAN REVIEW EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN ACCOUNT. **

Alright, and as for my other schmexy reviewers, you guys rock. Carry on.

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><p>She had disappeared a while ago into the bedrooms. I really didn't want to let Cooper out of my sight. However, I didn't want to let momma out of my sight either. She seemed to be causing more trouble then the dog!<p>

"Okay," I heard her voice from behind the couch. I turned to face her and tried to keep my eyes from bugging out of my head. "Did you know that your mom's boss has an antique human skull in his room?"

Why does she keep doing this to me? "Please put that back! I'm not supposed to touch _anything _here," I begged.

She rolled her eyes and set the skull down on the table next to the couch. "Touching things is a part of life!"

I set Cooper on the floor. "But, I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to…"

"Look!" she interrupted. She ran her hands all over the guitar. Oh my God. "I'm touching Elvis's guitar…" she pointed out.

Yeah, because I was totally unaware of that!

"See?" she said. She started impersonating Elvis. "I'm Elvis Presley and I'm touchin' my gui-tar…"

I looked at her in shock… Please make her stop…

She continued. "That's right, baby. I'm touchin' the boss's skull, now I'm touchin' my special gui-tar."

She dropped the guitar. _Finally. _

"See? I touched the guitar and nothing bad happened," she said.

I breathed a sigh of relief. That was lucky. But of course, I can never be lucky and that's why the guitar detached from a string and went sailing through the _closed _window.

My mouth formed the shape of an O. I'm gonna cry. I can feel it. I told her not to touch it. I can't yell at her… She's my momma. I just… Why?

She turned to face me. "That guitar was not properly hung."

Of course she would blame something else! Oh my God, she broke everything! I ran off into the bathroom and locked the door. I never should've let her come. Oh wait. I didn't.

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><p>"Jade, you have to fix this!" I begged.<p>

"Cat, just stay calm, ok! There's a solution to this. Go outside and get the guitar, alright?" she said tranquilly.

I looked at her for a moment. She was insane. "Kay kay…" I said quietly.

I walked out the door, making sure Cooper didn't escape with me. I navigated my way among the bushes and found the guitar. The neck was completely torn from the body. Nuts askew all over the ground. Strings were barely holding it together. I picked up all that I could and carried it back into the house. Jade had a full roll of duct tape in her hand. Aw man…

She forcefully took the pieces from me and started wrapping the gray material around the neck and body. It wasn't very pretty.

She tore off the tape and picked the guitar up in her arms. There was a sickening crack as she strummed it.

"Do you think my mom's boss will notice?" I asked, even though the answer was obvious. People from outer space could notice it!

"Cat! Hey, Cat!" I heard Robbie sing-song from the hall.

"We're in here!" I yelled back.

Momma looked at me in either disgust or shock. "You called _Robbie?"_

"Yeah! So he can help us put up the guitar and fix the window!" I explained.

"Robbie can barely work the zipper on his own pants!" she whined.

That was mean. Robbie was nice, I don't know why she had to be so cruel to him. It was pretty funny, though. Robbie had trouble with zippers. I giggled a little then focused back on the task at hand.

"What's up, little pigeons?" Robbie asked as he entered.

I was surprised to see dad walk in after him, though. And apparently so was momma.

"Hi," I offered.

"Why did you invite Beck?" she whisper-shouted at me.

I looked at her, confused. It wasn't my fault, I swear…

"I thought you had a date tonight!" I heard my dad call. Momma turned to face him.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why did you think that?"

"Because it said so on your Slap page," he responded coolly, his hands in his pockets.

"Why are you stalking my Slap page?" she bickered.

"Why do you care?" he questioned further.

"Why is Robbie's zipper down?" I bud in, trying desperately to change the subject.

It occurred to me that I might've embarrassed him as Robbie looked down and zipped up his pants as subtly as possible.

"Look. Let's just get this stupid guitar fixed and hung back up there before Cat's mom's boss gets back," momma snapped, motioning her head towards the ceiling where the guitar used to be.

"We have to fix the window too!" I added, touching her arm.

"Ooh!" Robbie answered, pulling out his phone. "I'll find a window repair company using the new feature on my Pear Phone," he said brightly.

He opened the app and spoke extremely clearly into the microphone. "I need a window repair company in Beverly, Hills," he said.

The phone spoke back to him. "Checking for: Adult diapers."

Robbie's cheeks reddened. "N-n-n-n-no, that was my last search!" he screeched into his phone.

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><p>An hour later, the window was finally fixed. We had to search forever, but we found a guy. Now I stood next to my dad while he signed papers for the man.<p>

"Thanks for fixin' the window," my dad told him.

"Yeah!" I added brightly. We were making progress. "And we didn't even notice your lack of hair," I joked.

I guess he didn't take it as a joke. He glumly walked out the door as I waved bye to him.

"Guitar all good up there?" my dad called to momma and Robbie on the opposite side of the room.

"Yupperdeedoo!" Robbie answered on top of the ladder.

"Yeah, and look," momma added, "You can't even see where it broke."

"Nope," Robbie agreed, stepping off the ladder.

"Yay!" I exclaimed. "My mom's boss will never know anything bad happened!"

I was genuinely excited. I thought this was gonna go horribly.

Robbie picked up the skull, admiring it. I wasn't really paying attention. I don't think any other things can go wrong.

Next thing I knew, the skull had made contact with the glass table as they both shattered to pieces. I was still recovering from shock when the guitar came detached again, swinging across the room, sending sparks flying. I felt my dad's arms around me. Oh no…

I let out a squeak. This cannot be happening again. I let out a higher pitched squeak.

"Don't cry…" momma pleaded. Yeah, she should be pleading!

"But…" I started, but was interrupted by a buzzing.

"I heard a buzz," Robbie pointed out, obviously.

"Zip up your pants," momma told him.

I spoke into the intercom, hoping my voice wasn't wobbling too much. "Hello?" No such luck.

Of course it was my 'mom's boss. A small part of me was hoping that it wasn't. But of course it was. I looked at my parents and Robbie. They had to have _some _sort of solution… But of course they didn't.

"Could you buzz me in?" Carl asked again.

I swallowed and spoke again. "Um… Sure, I could…" I swallowed again. My voice was cracking. "Or maybe you could go to Europe for two weeks," I tried desperately.

"Cat. Buzz me in," he replied more sternly.

I felt tears well up in my eyes as I pressed the button to let him in. "Kay kay…"

I didn't even try to hold back my tears. I never should've let her come. I should've told Robbie not to bring Beck. This was all my fault. I shouldn't even be here. I can't babysit a dog, I wasn't even born in the era. I just ruin everything. I threw myself onto the armchair and curled up into a ball, well aware that they were watching me. I don't care anymore.

They assured me that it would be okay. I could barely hear them, though. Not that I care. All the damage was done. Then I felt the floors shake. I heard the rattling of the chandelier. Oh no… Not one of these…

"Earthquake!" I heard momma yell.

No no no no no no no no… I sat up and stood up off of the chair. I hated these, I'm afraid of earthquakes, it happened one time when I was five and I was with a babysitter and I wanted my dad and I don't like these one bit. I felt his arms wrap around me as he pulled me into a corner.

"Everybody down, cover your heads!" I heard him yell.

I saw my mom cover her face with a pillow while Robbie crawled under a table. Cooper was barking like crazy. My life was flashing before my eyes. I was gonna die. Everything was crumbling and falling around me. I felt my dad hug me tighter. I clamped my eyes shut. I can't look anymore.


	6. Betrayal

Disclaimer: Darn.

In the altered words of SarcasticLeaves, rock on mighty Bademancers.

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><p>I was lost in my own little bubble at the moment. I was locked in my dad's arms. He was so strong. It was slightly reassuring. I silently prayed that there weren't any aftershocks. I felt his arms unwrap around me. My hand went to cover my mouth. I never liked earthquakes. And this just added towards my hatred. Everything… Was broken.<p>

"Cat? Cat!" I heard my 'mom's boss yell.

I raced over to stand by my momma. I can't do this.

He slowly stumbled into the room, dropping his briefcase on the floor. "Cat," he exclaimed.

"Hi, Mr. Gibbons…" I started. "Some stuff broke," I said helplessly.

"I know, I…" he panted, "I felt the earthquake when I was goin' up the stairs. You kids okay?"

I heard momma and dad and Robbie all assure him that they were fine. I wasn't, all this stuff broke and it's my fault!

"I'm so sorry about your guitar!" I apologized. "And your lamp and your table," I continued, motioning to the broken objects.

"That's alright, it's not your fault," he said.

_Sure… _"But…"

"Cat!" I felt momma put her hands on my shoulders. "Mr. Gibbons isn't mad at us because he knows the _earthquake _caused all this damage."

"Yeah," my dad jumped in. "We can only blame the earth."

"And it's quaking," Robbie added, displaying awkward arm gestures.

"Of course," Mr. Gibbons agreed. "I'm just, uh… Relieved that Cooper and you kids are okay," he said, reaching to pick up the little puppy. He then motioned his head towards Robbie. "Son, your zipper."

I wish they'd stop pointing it out.

"Jiminy!" Robbie exclaimed, zipping up his pants once more.

There was an awkward moment of silence that fell upon us as I looked down at my feet. I mean, I guess that the earthquake broke some stuff, but not nearly as much stuff as I broke!

I heard momma's voice before I could finish my train of thought. "So we're just gonna go now."

She grabbed my arm before I could stop her. I called over my shoulder, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Gibbons!"

I couldn't even hear his response before the elevator door closed. Momma roughly released my arm and faced me. "Stop apologizing, it wasn't your fault!"

I stared at her, incredulously. How on earth could someone be so heartless? "Ya know what? You're right, it's not my fault."

"Good Cat. So just zip it…"

Now it was my turn to interrupt. "It's _yours._"

She stared at me in shock. "_What_?"

I just shook my head at her and attempted to walk out of the now open elevator. But she grabbed my arm and pulled me back, closing the door and stopping the shaft.

"Please stop doing that!" I begged, feeling my now red arm. She had a strong grip.

"No!" she yelled. "Are you saying that it's my fault you invited me over here to help you dog-sit?"

"No one invited you! You invited yourself!" I exclaimed.

"That is such a lie, it's not even believable," she gasped. "You _asked _me during school, remember?"

"I absolutely did not. You didn't have any other plans for tonight because you're too stubborn to admit that you miss Beck!" I corrected her. If she thinks that she's gonna make me take the blame then she's sadly mistaken.

She doesn't know she's my momma. And I'm setting her straight. Not that she's my momma, of course, but I'm setting her straight on something else. She was finally at loss for words, and I'm taking advantage of it.

"You miss him more than anything!" I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. _I _miss them more than anything. "And if you would've let him near you tonight, maybe you two would have a chance, but you didn't, and now you don't! You have to go and ruin everything with your awful ego! You just have to do everything in a _unique _way! Well, guess what? You don't have to be the winner at everything!"

"Shut. Up. You don't know anything about me, Cat," she said, oddly calm.

"I do too!" I countered. "I've known you forever!"

"You have not!" she replied defensively. "No one's known me forever because they've all left!"

"That is not true, _you _leave _them_," I corrected. She was speechless again as my words sunk in. "Just like you left Beck," I added.

I could tell those words stung her the most. Just like her words stung me everyday of my life since I was eight and a half.

I continued on with my rant. "And when Mr. Gibbons realizes that the skull was once in his bedroom and that there's a freaking _ladder _in his living room, he's gonna come after me, you know why? Because I was in charge. But I didn't do anything! And you're gonna let me take the blame and you're. Going. To. _Leave._ If you think that Beck left you, you're sadly mistaken! He wasn't happy in your relationship. He wanted to work things out with you and set you straight on how things needed to change. But you couldn't take it! You hate it when people set you straight because you always have to be right and in charge! Well sometimes you don't have to be, Jade!" I inhaled deeply and turned the elevator back on and crashed against the wall.

I felt her hand on my shoulder. "Cat…"

But I walked out on her. I'd talk to her on Monday. That is, if I was done sobbing by then.


	7. Traumatized

Disclaimer: Dang, what's a girl gotta do to own Victorious around here?

For all of you adding this story to your alerts and favorites… **Why you no review?**

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><p>"Hey, Trina, have you seen Jade…"<p>

"Not now, Katherine," the oldest Vega sister shouted at me before running towards the cafeteria.

I managed to stutter a 'It's Cat' before she disappeared around the corner. I looked at her form running away. "Well alright, talk to you later!" I called after her, trying not to hold a grudge. Grudges never got me anywhere.

She didn't respond. I waited for the next person to approach. Dad.

"Hi!" I waved.

He sheepishly waved his hand and flashed a toothy grin. "Sup, Cat?"

"Ooh! One time, I asked my brother 'sup' and he thought I said supper and he knocked me over when he ran towards the kitchen and I fell down the stairs and got a bruise on the top of my head!" I recalled.

Stories were fun. Especially when they were true.

He smiled again, kind of… Afraid? "That's… Nice."

I heard the five minute warning bell in its usual chimes. "Well, bye!" I said, picking up my flute. I decided to pick that as my instrument. It was so… Pretty.

"Wait, Cat!" he grabbed my arm.

It seemed like grabbing my arm was the universal language.

"Whatty?" I asked.

"Would you, uh… Would you wanna go out sometime?" he asked nervously.

I felt my mind freeze. My mind is broken. Good. Nothing else can function properly. I casually set my flute and backpack on the ground. I continued to place both of my hands on my diaphragm. I then let out the most obnoxious laugh that I could muster. I couldn't stop. I just laughed until I felt like I couldn't breathe and I had to pee.

He stared at me for a whole minute before sighing and turning away. I grabbed _his _arm this time. "Wait!"

"What?" he snapped.

"You don't wanna go out with me," I stated simply.

"And what? Do you share my brain?" he asked bitterly.

"I know more than you think," I stated slyly.

"Yeah, you're weird and I'm leaving," he shook his head.

I grabbed his arm again. Wow, that really works. "Nope!"

I pulled him into the janitor's closet and pulled on the light switch. I immediately shielded my eyes and I vaguely saw him do it too. It was extremely brighter than usual.

"Turn it off!" I screamed at him. I felt his arms wrap around me protectively. I hated bright lights. I saw one before I was… Teleported here? I'm really not sure what the whole unnatural process is called, but there were a lot of scary lights.

"I'm trying!" he screamed back.

I beat him to the punch and pulled on the switch. The whole room instantly went black again. I breathed a sigh of relief along with him.

"I'm leaving now," he said once he recovered, unwrapping his arms around me.

I couldn't see him in the darkness so I just leaned myself up against the door, knowing that was the only exit.

"Cat…" he said cautiously.

"Are you honestly gonna look at me and tell me that you wanna go out with me?" I asked.

"How can I do that when I can't see you?" he mumbled.

I suddenly remembered what I had brought with me today. "One sec," I told him as I rooted around in my bag. As promised, one second later I had on my bright pink coal miner's hat. I flicked on the light and he shielded his eyes again. "Ooh!" I remembered another thing. I pulled out my humongous pink sunglasses and handed them to him.

He put them on slowly. I refrained from laughing at the sight. Oh yeah. Dad could really pull off that look.

He reached out his hand and touched the hard hat. "Why do you _have _this?"

"It was two percent off with my lava lamp," I explained. "Now," I focused on the main topic. "You can't look at me and say that you actually wanna go out with me."

"And what makes you think that?" he asked stubbornly.

"Because I'm not Jade," I said, sporting a Cheshire grin.

"I broke up with Jade," he replied, sticking his thumbs in his pockets.

"Jade broke up with you," I corrected.

"Well hey, if we're gonna play 'Dump On Beck' I also should mention that I have a gnarly big toe," he added sarcastically.

"It's not gnarly. It's unique," I said, trying to cheer him up. He wasn't impressed. I reached up my hand and poked his cheek lightly.

"Poking my face for a reason?" he asked, annoyed.

"Just making sure you were alive," I responded.

He looked at me for a second. "So Jade broke up with me. She ripped it off like waxing an alligator. She doesn't care anymore."

"You know she still loves you," I stated. It wasn't sympathy. It was the truth. If they didn't still love each other, then there would be no point in me existing.

"No she doesn't. We were voted the worst couple and we were the only couple. I… Screwed her up somehow," he replied.

"Aw…" I mocked. "Let's throw a pity party!" I reached into my bag and pulled out my bottle of glitter. I tossed some all throughout the room.

He looked at me one last time. There was pain in his eyes. He wordlessly reached for the doorknob and let himself out. He didn't give me back my glasses. Eh. Someone would tell him.

I looked at Mr. Purple's head sticking out of my bag. I kissed him, knowing the dramatic scene that he just witnessed would traumatize him. "It's okay. He's just living in The Nile."

One parent now self-conscious. One more to go.


	8. Approach

Disclaimer: It appears that no one's going to help me in this area.

**Review even if you don't have an account. **Or don't. I'm a document, not a cop. I would've uploaded this sooner, but fanfiction has trouble being smart. I was okay when it wouldn't let me see the stats, but not letting me upload? TOO FAR.

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><p>"Jade!" I latched on to her leg as she attempted to walk by.<p>

"What?" she snarled at me.

I stood up and smoothed down my dress. "Where have you been, I've been looking for you all day!"

"I don't know, Cat," she replied sarcastically. "Maybe I was leaving you like I leave everyone else."

"Jade, I'm sorry that I said that," I said quietly.

"Oh, really?" she reached into her bag. "Because the random eighteen dollars I found in my locker wasn't enough?"

"Hey, those eighteen dollars are anything but random! They're worth like… Eighteen dollars!" I exclaimed.

I spent eighteen dollars on that gift.

"Whoop-dee-do. That still doesn't change the fact that you embarrassed me in front of…"

"Yourself?" I interrupted.

"YES!" she yelled and started to walk off again.

"No!" I threw myself on the floor and latched on to her ankle again.

"Cat, I swear to God…" she started, only to be interrupted by André.

"Hola, muchachas," he greeted, unlocking his locker with an intricate measure of notes.

He turned around and really took in the scene for the first time. "Why's there a Cat on the floor?" he questioned.

"Because maybe Cats like being on the floor!" momma snapped at him.

"They really don't," I added quietly.

Momma suddenly yanked me up from my elbow. I was extremely lucky I didn't bruise easily. I'm sure it would've been a problem at around this time.

"What do you want, Cat?" she yelled. "You already told me everything I didn't wanna know!"

"What's goin' on?" André asked.

Momma quickly stepped in. _"Cat _has decided that she knows everything," she said, finally releasing my arm.

"Cat? You mean this one right here?" André looked at me for a moment and then started laughing. "That's a good one," were his last words as he walked off.

That was hurtful.

Momma started to walk away. I ripped off my heels and ran in front of her. Once I was a reasonable amount ahead of her, I started walking backwards so we could talk face-to-face.

"Please go get hit by a bus," she said smoothly, continuing to walk forward.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you…" she looked at me and unofficially closed the topic. "Forget it."

"No…" I whined. "Why do you want me to get hit by a bus?"

"Because you think you know absolutely everything and the fact of the matter is you don't. You're the closest thing I have to a friend right now and you seem to want to blow that for me. You think you know everything about _me _and you don't. In fact, I don't think you even know my middle name," she said, finally stopping at her locker.

"Elizabeth," I answered.

"Lucky guess," she replied, opening the gray metal door.

"You a_re _my best friend and I _do_ know everything about you. Or at least more than you think," I corrected.

She slammed the locker shut. "What's my favorite color?"

"Black."

"What's my dream job?"

"Professional actor."

"What's my mom's name?"

"Hannah."

"What was the name of my stuffed dog when I was little? I only had it for two days and he was my best friend until my brother ran it through a shredder," she asked.

Oh come on, no fair! "I don' t know," I replied quietly.

"HA!" she pointed her finger at me, like all the other answers I got right were cancelled out by that one question.

I leaned over her shoulder and whispered into her ear. "I may not know what your stuffed dog's name used to be," I paused. "But I know who you love."

I finished and walked away, leaving the final parent self-conscious. Score for Cat.

I rounded the corner without looking back and walked outside to Festus's truck. I ordered his goat cheese pizza. He says that the goats were imported from Maine especially for us.

As I approached my usual table, I felt the back of my shirt being tugged on. I turned around and didn't see anything. I then felt the tugging again and looked down. It was a little girl. I knelt down to her level.

"Hi, sweetie, how'd you get over here?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders, but didn't talk to me. Her brunette ponytail whipped as a gust of air blew through.

"Are you from the preschool next door?" I asked again.

It was probably true. They wander off the playground to here all the time.

She shook her head no.

"No?" Well, this was unusual. "What's your name, Hun?"

She crinkled her nose. "What's _yours_?" she snobbed at me.

I held out my hand in a pretend business-like manner. "I'm Cat, pleased to meet ya."

I withdrew my hand as she giggled. "I'm Skyla."

"That's a beautiful name, buddy," I complimented, readjusting so I was more comfortable on my knees. "Where are your parents?" I asked again.

"I don't know!" she cried.

"It's okay, it's okay, we'll find 'em," I comforted.

Only wish I could do the same with mine.


	9. Immature

Disclaimer: After all this time, still not mine.

**Review even if you don't have an account. **Yeah. Fanfic writers are in it for fame. So anyway, this story is taking tragic twists and turns and becoming more Back To The Future-esque every chapter. So brace yourselves for a whole lot of crazy comin' at ya from a never ending parade of airhead.

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><p>"Um…" I mumbled as I stood up. I looked at the pizza in my hand.<p>

I quickly shoved half of it in my mouth and threw the rest in the trash. It took about fifty bites. Skyla was looking at me in confusion, but not disgust. She must have a brother or something equally disgusting. I took a final gulp and grabbed her hand. "Alright, let's go!"

I led her into the building, earning weird glances from my fellow students. Ha! I bet they didn't have a cute little girl named Skyla for the time being. I stopped by my locker and threw my backpack on the bottom, not bothering to hang it. It barely fit. As I closed my locker, I saw a figure approaching.

"Hey, Cat," Tori greeted.

"Hi, Tori!" I replied. I felt Skyla shy behind me.

"Who's that?" Tori asked, obviously referring to the girl desperately trying to hide.

"Oh," I reached behind my back and felt her hair. She still didn't budge. "This is Skyla."

Tori gave me a confused look. "But… Who is she?"

"I'm not sure. I found her outside," I answered.

"Ah, Cat…" Tori sighed.

"No, she's lost!" I corrected.

"Oh," she said. "Hi," she said to Skyla.

She came out from behind me and looked at Tori, crossing her arms over her chest. She just glared at Tori, not saying anything.

"I'm Tori," Tori continued, her cheerfulness fading.

Skyla looked down at her feet, clad in baby biker boots.

"Well alrighty then," Tori said, leaning in to whisper in my ear. "Quite a catch ya got there."

She walked off, patting me on the shoulder. I looked down at Skyla and knelt down again. "What's wrong?"

"I want my daddy!" she whined.

"Well, sweetheart, we're gonna go call your parents, alright?" I reassured her, putting my hand on her shoulder.

She sniffled and looked down again.

I tried to get more information out of her. "Do you know your phone number?"

She shook her head. I figured she would be all-out bawling, but she was relatively calm.

"Do you know your dad's name…" I started, but was interrupted by her yelling.

She pointed over to the corner. "That's him!" and then she ran towards… Robbie. "Skyla, wait!" I ran after her.

I paused and looked down at my heels. "I don't even know why I bought you," I grumbled, ripping them off and tossing them in my locker. I then ran to the corner where Skyla was. She was tugging on the back of Robbie's shirt.

I came just in time to see Robbie turn around and smile. "Hiya!"

Followed by Rex's input. "Heh! Robbie's got a girlfriend…"

He shoved Rex in his backpack and dropped to his knees. Skyla was oddly small. "What brings you here?" he asked casually.

I looked from Robbie to Skyla. Oh no. Is the world trying to kill all the innocent children?

"Hey, Skyla, we're gonna find your parents," I said, grabbing her hand.

"But…"

"Somewhere far away from here," I interrupted, dragging her towards the janitor's closet. I locked the door and pulled the flashlight out of my bag. I was prepared this time.

"Skyla, where are you from?" I asked.

"Los Angeles," she said, scared.

Oh. I was probably the one scaring her. I got down on my knees, slowing my breath. I was scaring myself.

"No, I mean, what year is it _right _now?" I questioned.

"2027," she said shyly, looking at me like I was insane.

We both are, bud.

"No, sweetie, it's 2012," I whispered.

"Since when?"

I sighed. "Teased anyone lately?"

She looked down at her feet.

"You'll catch on soon enough," I said.

I hated what she was about to go through. I sat down completely and beckoned for her to sit too. She did, her face scrunching up as she did so.

"Your dad?" I started. "His name is Robbie."

I silently questioned who Robbie had a kid with. I pushed it aside for the time being.

I continued, noticing that she wasn't responding. "The last time you saw him, did he look any different?"

She nodded her head fervently, like she's been holding back that thought.

"That's your daddy when he was seventeen," I stated.

I heard her inhale deeply. She spoke her first words. "How do you know all this?"

I sheepishly smiled and pulled out my phone. I pulled up the first picture of my dad and showed it to Skyla.

"Ya see this guy? He's _my_…"

"Grandpa!" she interrupted.

I dropped the phone onto the hard floor like it was on fire. _Drop it like it's hot_, I mentally added. Focus, Cat.

This girl… Oh my God. Robbie. And…

I frantically picked up the phone again and flipped to the nearest picture of Jade. I showed it to her. "Is this your grandma?"

She looked at it thoughtfully for a minute. I couldn't take it. "Skyla, come on, is this your grandma?"

She nodded.

The realization quickly passed. I studied her face in the poorly lit room. She had a sweet face. She had blue eyes that were unmistakably my mom's. Her brownish-red, slightly curly hair hung past her shoulders. Her tinted cheeks brought color to her pale, freckle-free face. Her chapped lips were a shade of red.

I stood up and grabbed her hands, pulling her with me. "Alright, let's go."

"Where?"

"Everywhere," I sighed, opening the door.

I caught a glimpse of my mom and dad having an all-out bicker session in the middle of the hallway. Everyone was watching them. I was more ashamed of them now than I was when I was five. I looked down at Skyla. She was about five. I wonder if I've ever embarrassed her.

My mom and dad. I saw mom raise her hand to just slap him, but he caught her hand in his. There was more yelling.

I smoothed Skyla's hair, still watching the scene in front of me. "Stay here, okay?"

She nodded. I walked over to my mom and dad and stood right next to them. They didn't even notice me. I turned my head to Skyla. _Cover your ears, _I mouthed. She understood immediately and placed her hands on both sides of her head.

I then rummaged around in my backpack until I came across what I was looking for. With one swift movement, I raised the mini bullhorn right in between them. And for lack of better words, I blew.

I saw them cover their ears. I saw all the bystanders cover their ears. Skyla was actually smiling because she knew that was going to happen before everyone else.

I put the bullhorn away and stared at my dad. "You are acting like an immature two-year-old."

"See?" mom butt in.

"And you," I turned towards her. "Should wash off the raccoon make-up and see things how other people see them for a change."

I motioned for Skyla to come with me as I made a dramatic exit. "I think you'd be surprised," I called over my shoulder.

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><p>Skyla's on my profile if you wanna see her. I literally typed in 'little girl' to the tag search on Tumblr - And felt like a creeper while doing so. But I found her.<p> 


	10. Selective

Disclaimer: Guesses, anyone?

**Review even if you don't have an account. **So, sorry the external links on profiles are currently unavailable. I found a loophole because I'm a smooth criminal, though. Just paste the link into the address bar. Serious Bade SOON.

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><p>I'm not telling her that I'm her… Whatever. Too odd. I decided to leave school early. I've never ditched in my life, but judging by the fact that I suddenly had a five-year-old daughter over the course of half an hour, I'd say that this was an exception.<p>

"Alright, in ya go," I motioned her into my house.

She walked in, hands in her pockets. She seemed like a toughie. Except for when it came to… Everyone but me and Robbie. A gust of reality suddenly wacked me on the side of the head and I shooed it away. This isn't reality, I'm living in a nightmare.

"You hungry?" I asked her, walking towards the kitchen.

"Thirsty," she replied simply.

"Okay…" I opened the fridge and speared a yoohoo box.

I watched her slowly sip from it. She had a million thoughts swirling through her head. I could tell.

"C'mon, we gotta talk," I said, grabbing my bag and heading upstairs, Skyla not far behind.

She plopped down on the center of my bed, looking up at me.

"All right…" I looked around my room. I came across my mini whiteboard and markers. "Okay," I drew a circle with the year 2027 in it and showed it to her. "This is where you're from."

Wait a minute… _I _was born in 2022. Crap, this must mean she's from a completely different life. A life where I was born in 1993. That must mean that I'm never going back. All hope is lost. But if I'm never going back, then that means that mom and dad never had me. And in that case, Skyla wouldn't be here either.

One step at a time. Skyla nodded in response to my previous statement.

"All right," I drew another circle with 2012. "This is where you are now. You went back fifteen years in the past."

"Cool…" Skyla said, amazed.

"Yeah, we'll see about that," I mumbled. I pulled out my phone again, flipping to the picture of my dad and mom. "Your grandparents?"

She nodded.

"They're _my _parents."

"But then…" she lifted her eyes to meet mine.

I smiled sheepishly. "Hey."

She scrambled off the bed and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. I heard the click of the lock. I sighed and looked down at the whiteboard. My life is _messed. Up. _And so is hers. I set the board down on the bed and walked over to the bathroom. I rapped my knuckles against the wood lightly.

"Skyla, are you okay?"

"No!" she yelled back.

"Well, do you wanna talk about it?" I pleaded.

"No!"

"Well, I can tell you that it's gonna get pretty boring in there," I sighed.

After five minutes of standing, I realized that she wasn't gonna come out anytime soon. She was pretty stubborn. I knocked on the door again.

"You alive?"

No response. A wave of panic went through me.

"Knock once for yes and twice for no," I tried.

She knocked twice. Nice try, kid.

"Skyla, you're not fooling me."

Another minute.

"Are you hungry yet?"

"Yes," she groaned.

I smiled. "Then come eat something!"

"No!"

"Ugh," I shook my head, even though she couldn't see. "That's it!"

I was gonna give her at least a little time to come out, but I was worried. I don't know if there's any razors in there or anything. I took the bathroom key off my dresser and unlocked the door. She was sitting on the sink counter, arms crossed over her chest. She didn't acknowledge the fact that I was there.

"_You _need to work on your social skills," I told her.

"I do not," she pouted.

"Do you know what social skills are?" I asked.

She paused. "No."

"Look," I waited until I had her eyes. "You wanna be mad at the world, fine, but you can't be mad at me," I begged.

"Okay…"

"Here," I took the mini pack of airheads from my front skirt pocket and handed it to her. It may not be the healthiest lunch, but I honestly don't have a fridge in my bathroom. I decided to explain some stuff to her as she munched on a raspberry taffy. "Your dad? He doesn't know who you are. Your grandpa? He doesn't know who you are. Your grandma? She doesn't know who you are."

"Can you tell them?"

I smirked. "I can tell them you're Skyla," I said. "But they can't know anything else."

"Why not?"

"Because _they _belong here and _you _don't. Neither do I. But then again, if I belonged anywhere else, you wouldn't be here… Never mind," I stopped before I confused her even more.

"What am I supposed to do, mommy?" she slurred.

"Ya know what, why don't you call me Cat?" I blurted, still taking in the subject.

"Okay," she said, airheads coming out of her mouth. Classy.

"Why don't you…" I picked her up off the counter and dropped her on her feet. "Wait in there while I call grandma," I said, pointing to my room.

She shrugged, unable of caring less. "Kay."

Hmm. Selective stubbornness.

I called my mom's cell. She picked up on the third ring.

"Raccoon speaking."

"I'm sorry," I sighed.

"Yeah, I bet," I heard her laugh.

"I need your help with something."

"Oh yeah, Cat. Because it's my life mission to help you with everything," she replied sarcastically.

"I need you to help me babysit," I said, ignoring her comments.

"Yeah. Because I love children."

"I don't know…" I said. "I think you'd like this one," I said, stealing a peak of Skyla, who was now eating on my bed.

"Is she the one you had at school?"

"Maybe," I replied.

"Huh. I liked her boots."

"See? Bonding already," I responded cheerily.

"Cat…"

"Jade. You know you don't have plans," I cut in.

There was a moment of silence. "I'll be there."


	11. Opinionated

Disclaimer: La la la la la, not mine…

**Review even if you don't have an account. **I actually am using your suggestions, all of 'em. Love it, hate it… How should I know if you don't review?

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><p>Alright, that's one parent down. Next.<p>

"Hey, Beck?" I asked as he picked up, not even giving him a chance to say hi.

"Uh… Yeah, what's up?"

"I need you to help me babysit tonight."

"That girl you had with you?" he questioned.

I looked over at Skyla again. I was really nervous about letting her out of my sight. "Uh-huh."

"Why do you need my help?"

"Why wouldn't I?" I threw back.

"I see. Jade's gonna be there."

"Yup," I said. I had no intention of keeping that from him.

Another moment of silence. "I'll be there."

And then he hung up without another word. Yeah… He was much easier to talk to than momma.

"Cat! Are you here?" I heard 'dad' yell from downstairs.

Shoot. I motioned for Skyla to come into the bathroom, which she obliged immediately. "I'll be right there!" I yelled back. "Stay here and don't open that door for anyone but me, you got it?" I whispered to Skyla.

She nodded, unfazed. Well alright then.

I ran down the stairs and saw Matt leaning against a counter in the kitchen. "Hey."

"Hey," he greeted. "Do you have somewhere to be tonight?"

"No, why?"

"Your mother and I are having a little business meeting here tonight. I'd hate for you to be stuck in your room the whole time," he explained.

"What about him?" I asked, referring to my brother.

"He's at Oswald's."

Oswald was my brother's friend. Only friend, I think.

Going out would make my job of not getting caught with Skyla a whole lot easier. "Yeah, I can go somewhere."

He smiled. "Great. I'ma go pick up your mother," he started walking towards the door with his keys.

"When is your meeting gonna be over?" I asked.

"Uh… Around eleven."

"On a Monday?" I stared at him.

"Yup, gotta go."

And then he was gone.

I watched his stupid car round the corner and disappear before I went to get Skyla. I knocked on the bathroom door. "It's me!"

"Me who?"

"Cat!"

"Okay!" she unlocked the door and opened it.

She had managed to take her thick hair out of her ponytail. It looked like it was attacked by a chimpanzee.

"Oh my…" I tried to stifle my laughter.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Are you gonna let me brush your hair?" I laughed.

She grabbed her head. "NO!"

"Skyla, you can't go out unless you brush your hair."

"Then I'm not going out!" was her rebuttal.

"Just let me do it," I sighed, grabbing my hairbrush.

"No!" she shook her head.

"Skyla! I've been a girl for almost eighteen years, I think I can handle brushing your hair!" I yelled.

"You _think_!"

"SKYLA… Is your last name Shapiro?" I was interrupted by my thoughts.

She stopped whining long enough to nod her head.

"SKYLA SHAPIRO, IF YOU DON'T LET ME BRUSH YOUR HAIR, I WILL CHOP IT ALL OFF!"

That always worked when momma tried to brush mine.

She dropped her hands to her sides. "Fine…"

I smiled. Another score for Cat. Eighteen-million screams later, I had somewhat tamed her mane. I've come to the conclusion that it was just like Robbie's afro, except longer. "Alright, you're good."

"Am _not_," she complained, clutching her head like it was clawed to death.

I looked at the mess of hair on her head. Now it was 100% frizz. I obviously had no idea how to handle her type of hair. I took a ponytail out of the drawer and brushed all of her to the top of her head, securing it with the elastic. I wrapped it around the base and held it down the pins. "Better."

She looked in the mirror. "I look like a ballerina," she grunted as she reached up to take out the pins.

"Stop right there!" I pulled her arm back down to her side. "_Leave it_."

She stared at me. "But I look like you."

She obviously has a certain someone's wit. "That… Was uncalled for."

She shrugged and walked into my bedroom. I followed after her. "Do you have a jacket or something?" I asked.

"Am I _wearing _a jacket?" she spread out her arms.

"No…"

"Then no," she snapped.

"Well," I replied. I'm starting to think she has multiple personality disorder. "We'll just have to go buy you one."

"Yeah. Like I'm gonna let _you _buy me a jacket," she said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I shrieked.

"Have you seen your room lately? It looks like a unicorn threw up. I'm not letting _you _pick out a jacket that I will be judged by," she stated.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You're a highly opinionated little girl, aren't you?"

She shrugged. "If only I knew what that meant."

I smirked. "Relax. I know someone who'd be happy to pick stuff out for you." I dialed momma's number in my phone. I bet she'd appreciate this job. "Hey Jade? Yeah, can you meet us a little early at the mall? Yeah," I waited as she ranted about how strip malls were a corporate business that were destroying our minds. "So you'll be there?" I asked when she was done. "Great. Kay kay, bye." I slipped my phone in my pocket and looked at Skyla, who was now bored. "All right, let's go," I headed down the stairs with her following after me.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"That was _Jade_," I replied, not wanting to confuse her with the 'She's your grandma, but never ever call her that'.

"Oh."

I walked out the front door and locked it behind me.

Saying that the only car was gone, we were walking. I would not, under any circumstances, bring a little girl onto the public bus. Especially one that was my daughter in another life. My life is screwed up.

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><p>So have you guys seen Skyla yet? ! ? ! Go see my profile. But first… Ya know, you could always review if you really wanna.<p> 


	12. Oblivious

Disclaimer: Doo da doo doo, not mine.

**Review even if you don't have an account. **You'll feel all good inside. Lemme know what you think!

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><p>Half an hour later, I had managed to get us to the parking lot of the strip mall. It included a lot of complaining, moaning, groaning, piggyback rides, and <em>are we there yet<em> talk. In hindsight, I suppose I could've asked momma to just pick us up, but that would require effort on her part. And honestly, I don't think she's a big fan of effort.

"_Finally_," Skyla panted.

I rolled my eyes at her and searched around for momma's black convertible. Of course it was at the front of the building. I knocked on her drivers seat window, watching her jump. She saw me and exited the vehicle.

"God, Cat, why do you do that to me?" she exclaimed.

I thought about it for a minute. "I don't know."

"Cat, it was kind of a rhetorical… Forget it," she explained.

It seemed like all of her conversations with me ended like that.

I shrugged. "Okay!"

I put my hands on Skyla's shoulders and moved her in front of me. "This… Is Skyla."

Momma looked her up and down. "Sup, kid?"

She looked like she didn't know how to respond to that. "Sup with you?"

Momma smiled and knelt down. "You're not gonna get far on the tough act with that hair, kid."

Skyla gasped and crossed her arms, blatantly looking up at me.

"Hey!" I yelled. "I did that!"

Momma looked back at Skyla. "Good, then you still have a chance of being saved." She stood up and started walking towards the entrance. "Let's go!" she screeched.

I whimpered. Skyla just glared at her. Nice start, momma… Nice start. Once we were inside, I felt momma tugging on my arm. Why everyone feels the need to tug on me, I'll never know. A simple 'Hey Cat' would be just fine for future reference.

"Why are we here?" she snarled into my ear.

"Because Skyla needs a sweatshirt or something," I explained.

"Why are you buying clothes for her?" she asked.

I decided to use the excuse off the top of my head, only to realize that there wasn't one there. "Her parents will pay me back for it."

"Yeah, whatever." She suddenly became interested in her black manicure. "What am _I _doing here?"

"Because if I let _her _buy me clothes, I'd look like _her_," Skyla grunted.

I narrowed my eyes at her while momma just turned to face her in shock. "Way to go, kid…" she marveled, high-fiving her.

"I'm going next door," I sighed. "Don't spend too much," I felt my back pocket. It was stuffed with bills I had taken from Matt's wallet. "On second thought, go nuts."

I saw momma fist bump Skyla behind my back as I walked away. Well they seemed to be getting along just swimmingly. I hid behind a corner and made sure that they weren't still looking at me. All clear. I pulled out my pink pearphone and found Tori's number in the address book.

I sent her a quick text.

_Can we come over tonight?_

I got an automatic response.

_Who's we?_

_Me Skyla Jade & Beck_, I typed, giving up on proper grammar.

_Wait wait wait, you still haven't found her parents?_

I groaned. I need another lie. _She's my cousin we'll find them tomorrow._

After a few minutes, I had finally gotten another answer. _Yeah, go ahead and bring on the troops. _

Fantastic. Now I had to call dad.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hi!" I greeted back.

"Something wrong?"

"Oh, yeah, meet us at Tori's," I remembered.

"Why Tori's?"

"Something wrong with Tori's?" I snapped.

"No…"

"Well then meet us there, bye!" I interrupted.

_Call disconnected. _Good. I want them to talk tonight. Oh, who am I kidding, I need them to _at least _talk tonight. I've been here for too long anyways and now things are spinning out of control. I don't know whose idea it was to throw in Skyla, but… She wasn't safe either. And I still don't know how Robbie fits into this, and he's still oblivious to everything! I need to write this down.

Knowing the present day momma, she'd probably have to throw everything remotely resembling the color pink on the floor before they actually went shopping for Skyla's jacket. I had plenty of time. I walked into the food court and ordered a Grande Mint Tea. And with said tea… I was going to figure stuff out.

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><p>I needed to get Skyla back first. That much was clear. Once she was gone, then I would find a way to get myself back. But I wasn't going to just leave Skyla here to fend for herself. I know what that's like. It's not a very happy childhood. I care about Skyla so much already. I've known the girl for not even a day and all she's done is snap at me and mock my fashion sense. But I still cared about her.<p>

I am almost _convinced _that this is my time. This is what I was put here for. I just need to put back momma and dad and then I'd be able to go back. But that's the thing. So would Skyla. And I still honestly had no idea how she was gonna put me and Robbie together. Oh, well no, I _know _what she has to do, so I'm gonna put in a little effort on my part, but… I just don't see it. Robbie? Really?

My phone buzzed quite loudly, earning stares from all the prissy couples. I glared right back. I'm a fighter today.

_Where are you_

Momma. It had been an hour already. And all that I had come up with was 'put them back together'. Fantastic. I didn't bother replying, I just got up and walked towards the end of the mall, where I had left them. I rounded the corner and saw momma clearly. But the little girl next to her was most definitely not Skyla. I felt my pulse quicken. That's not good.

I ran the rest of the way, grabbing Skyla by the shoulders and turning her to face me. "What did you do!" I screamed at momma.

Skyla's hair. It was pitch black.

"Relax, Cat, it's a wig," momma said, pulling off the piece to reveal a bald cap, quickly placing it back on. "She looked ridiculous before."

"She did not!" I yelled.

"_Did so_," Skyla coughed into her arm.

I suspiciously eyed the bag in momma's arm. "What'd you buy?"

She held the bag out in front of me. I peered in. "Seriously."

"Uh-huh," momma said, holding the bag closer to her again.

"You got her a leather jacket," I stated.

"Yup. Think of all the cows that were kill…"

"Stop!" I interrupted, not wanting to hear her sick fantasy. "How much did you pay for it?"

"Like a hundred."

I rolled my eyes. Matt's bank account was practically overflowing. He wouldn't even blink an eye at this. I reached into my back pocket and handed her one of the bills.

"Awesome."

"Alright. To Tori's!" I exclaimed, heading towards the exit.

"Whoa whoa whoa…" momma stepped in front of me. "Repeat."

I regained my original composure. "I said… Alright. To Tori's!" I tried sidestepping around her, to no avail.

"I'm not goin' to Vega's. I'll be at home," she turned to head towards the exit herself.

"Wait!" I stepped in front of her, motioning for Skyla to just casually move along with us. "You promised you'd help me with her!"

"Have Tori help you."

"But _you _said you would," I pointed out.

"But if Tori's there then why do I have to…"

I interrupted again. "_Because… _Skyla doesn't like Tori."

Momma looked down at her on that statement.

"It's true," Skyla added.

"Well." Momma got knelt down again. "You just earned like a zillion points in my book, kid."

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><p>Review for the children. <strong>Think of the children.<strong>


	13. Aimless

**Guys. I am so sorry this came so late (well, for me). I've been procrastinating so much on this story simply because there's no other stories like it to base it off of! Your reviews are so frickin' sweet and motivating and I love each and every one of you. I would make Skyla give you a hug if I could. And we all know how hard that would be. If you wanna keep up with my procrastination, feel free to follow my Tumblr. That's where my unavailable free time goes to DIE.**

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><p>Sweat, blood, and tears. That kind of described the ride to Tori's house. Momma insisted on playing her scary, teenage rage music. Not only was it giving me the biggest migraine known to man, she was also poisoning the mind of Skyla, who seemed to be enjoying it for unknown reasons.<p>

"Can you please turn it down?" I screeched over the drums.

"NO!" she screamed, using her usual rebuttal.

I had never been more excited to see Tori's house in my entire life. I jumped out of the car and gladly landed face first in the grass. "Air, sweet air…"

"Get up, Cat," momma complained, pulling me to my feet.

"That was torture and you know it," I said.

She shrugged. I watched Skyla cautiously step out of the vehicle. I could still see her head banging from the aftershock of the music.

"Would you please take that off?" I begged, referring to her wig.

"No thanks, I'm good," she said.

I sighed. "I give up." I walked to the front door and just walked in. Knocking would take up time, and I honestly don't know if I have any time left in me. I'm gonna fail school and become a professional hobo.

"Um…" Tori started as I flung myself on her couch. "Hi?"

"Hi," I mumbled.

"Where are the others?"

"Jade and Skyla are out there," I talked into the pillow, aimlessly pointing at the door.

I sat up and watched as they walked in, momma closing the door behind them.

"Um…" Tori stuttered again. "What's happenin' with the…"

I noticed she was motioning to Skyla's head.

"Jade happened," I finished. "And _Skyla_," I stood up, "should take off the stupid wig."

"She should not," momma inserted.

Skyla clutched her fake hair, as if to say she wasn't letting it go. Let me tell you something, as soon as I get her in my hands, that wig is being burned in an unholy ceremony. She didn't look anything like _my _Skyla at all.

What did I just say?

"I thought you gave up," momma pointed out.

"I take it back, now take it off," I demanded.

"No!" Skyla yelled.

"Tori thinks it looks great, right?" momma quizzed.

Tori looked at the two of them, also becoming aware of the eerie resemblance. "Um…"

Momma took a step forward. Tori took a step back.

"I think it looks great," Tori gritted through her teeth.

I groaned and pulled Skyla up on to the couch with me. I managed to hold her still and whisper in her ear. "Take it off right now or I'm leaving you here with Tori."

Skyla immediately snapped out of her state of defiance and ripped the piece off her head, throwing it at my momma. "It's gone."

"Good choice," I said, feeling slightly proud of my parental skills.

I pulled the cap off of her and shoved it into my bag. She shook out her hair and returned to pouting. I heard a knock on the door. Only Tori and I knew who that was. Jade was still oblivious and Skyla was too involved in her mess of a mane.

"I'll get it," Tori said, walking towards the wooden entrance.

I watched momma the whole time. I watched her eyes widen as he was unveiled. I watched her immediately turn to me. And that is when I realized I had nothing else planned.

"Surprise!" I yelled, hoping it would cover.

Momma grabbed her black handbag. I heard my dad's voice from the doorway. "Jade."

She didn't respond, though. "I'm going home," she said as she walked towards the other door to the porch.

I pushed Skyla off the couch. "Go, kid, use your charm."

She seemed to know what to do because she ran after momma at full speed, pulling on her arm. "Stay!" I heard her yell.

I watched momma turn around and look at her, getting down on her knees. The rest of their conversation was spoken in hushed whispers.

I looked at dad. The door was now closed and he was running his hand through his hair. He wanted momma back more than anything. I could see it. His body language was awkward. He knew that the love of his life was in the same room and she didn't want to go anywhere near him. It must have sucked.

Tori was sitting on the couch again, her eyebrows furrowed, looking at her geometry book. She was obviously regretting her decision to let us all come over on a Monday night. I heard the doorbell again. Dad turned to open it and I saw the curls immediately. Robbie was here, too.

"What up, my peeps?" he greeted with a wave.

"Hi," I greeted, as peppy as possible.

Heh. Peppy as possible.

"Hey," Tori waved. "You ready to teach me thingies?"

"I'm a-ready," he said, sitting down next to her.

My eyes trained themselves back on dad. He was still staring at momma and Skyla, unaware of me keeping track of his every move.

A minute later, I felt Skyla's presence next to me again. I turned around and saw Jade sullenly walking towards me.

"You owe me, baby girl," she said as she plopped down next to me. I don't know if she was talking to me or Skyla.

I saw dad walking towards us. "Hey," he said, hovering over momma.

She blatantly ignored him, sipping her coffee.

"Oh, for the love of God," I complained, running off towards the bathroom, leaving them all in their confused states.

I locked the door and pressed my back up against it, slowly sliding to the floor. The next thing I heard was a gentle knocking, about ten minutes later.

"Cat?"

Robbie.

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><p><strong> Yes, no, maybe so? How will I know if you don't review? Keep up with my procrastination at alaskan - punch . tumblr . com. I saw it on a vending machine during The Great Ping Pong Scam. Don't mock my creativity. <strong>


	14. Force

**Guess who's back to the daily updates? This girl! I had to edit this chapter so much. I regret this K rating. I'm learning about pen names in my literature class. I think I may just change mine if I come up with some genius idea.**

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><p>I slowly stood up off the floor. I have to tell him. I just can't keep this between me and Skyla. She's a little girl. She's like… five? God, I don't even know how old she is! I don't want this to happen to her, why is this happening to her? I opened the door and prayed that my eyes weren't totally puffy.<p>

"Hi," I croaked, my voice wobbly.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Ha. Cute of him to humor me. I know for a fact that I'm a walking train wreck. I stared at him for a minute. This was Skyla's dad. She probably wants to hug him so much right now. I just want to latch on to dad every single time I see him walking in the hallway.

Oh right, he asked a question. I gently grabbed his arm. I know what it's like when people forcefully tug on your arm. Doesn't feel very swell. I slowly pulled him in to the fluorescent lit room and quietly closed the door.

I looked at him. His face was crumpled into an expression of worry. He was worried about _me. _

I attempted to start the explanation. "I… I," I continued to stutter over a simple sentence. _I'm not from here. _That's all I want to say. I'm not from here. Neither is Skyla. We're both from two completely different eras, you're my future husband in her era, and I'm Beck and Jade's daughter in another. We're also kinda Skyla's parents in her world.

That's too much for me, let alone him. I whimpered. I was gonna bawl. Any minute now. Yup, here it comes. Then I felt his hands grab mine. My head snapped up to meet his. I could feel his body slowly moving towards mine. I didn't even notice how close he was until I could feel his breath on my face.

It was comforting and I don't know why.

"You don't have to tell me," he whispered.

But I do. He deserves to know. It's gonna be torture, and it doesn't matter when I tell him. I needed to know something first. I subtly closed the distance between us. I felt his body tense and relax in intervals as I pressed my lips against his.

It dawned on me, as I felt his arms wrap around my waist, that I was relaxed. I wasn't worrying about anything. All I could think about was his soft, red lips on mine. And knowing that my reality was full of brutality, I let my mouth linger on his longer than I should have. As soon as I realized this, I abruptly pulled away from him, his face wrinkled in confusion, although his eyes were still closed.

There was nothing I wanted more than right then and there, than to return to his arms.

He could substitute my father in ways that I just couldn't even grasp.

He opened his eyes and the first thing I saw was panic. If he was worried about me before, now he'd be scared of me.

"I'll tell you," I croaked, my voice still scratchy. "But you have to promise."

"Promise… What?" he asked.

"Promise that you won't leave me here alone," I said, involuntarily taking a step closer.

"I won't," he shook his head, as if that thought was preposterous.

I sighed and looked around the room. He was blocking the only escape. I had to tell him. I hopped up on the sink counter and looked at him for at least a minute before I said anything.

"Skyla's non-existent," I whispered.

He cocked his head at that one. Yeah, not surprising. "What do you…"

I cut him off before he asked what I didn't even know how to explain. "Neither am I."

He groaned. "Cat…"

"We're both not from here!" I said, trying to get a hold of the concept myself.

It was coming slightly clearer now that I was saying it out loud.

"Well, I still don't know what you mean," he whined.

"I was sent back in time for bullying! Okay?" I screeched. "And so was Skyla! But she's from a completely different era than me, and guess what? You just so happen to be her father! And guess who just so happens to be _my _parents? The two people out there who refuse to talk to one another! And I need to get them back together, or else I don't get to go back, game over!" I screeched out all at once.

I could help but realize I left out one vital part. I was also Skyla's mom. Yeah, let's save that little piece of information.

"Wait… What?" he groggily asked, like my explanation gave him whiplash.

"Still holding on to that promise that you wouldn't leave?" I questioned sheepishly.

"I'm not leaving," he said, taking steps closer until he was standing in front of me.

"Look, I _know _you don't believe me and I'm just insane in your eyes right now, but…"

He cut me off this time. "I didn't say I didn't believe you."

"Oh, and what part of all that was actually believable?" I quizzed.

I felt his hand grip my chin. "I can see it in your eyes."

I stared back at him with just as much force. "And you believe all of that."

"I find it hard to believe, but," he released my chin and looked down at the floor. "Yeah, I still believe it."

I smiled slightly, knowing that I had succeeded in telling him. I looked down at the floor, which seemed to become an amazing object of attention.

"So why are you taking care of Skyla?" he asked, still not looking up.

Don't worry, Robbie. Neither was I.

I went right in for the kill. "Because she's my daughter."

_That _caught his attention. His head snapped up instantly, and I kept my eyes diverted.

"But then…"

I begrudgingly looked up at him. I waved slightly. "Hi."

"Oh my God," he groaned,

"That's reassuring," I said sarcastically.

A minute more of silence and I felt the tears streaming down my face. I immediately regret this decision of telling him. But at the same time, I don't. He deserved to know, and now, assuming that he won't put me in the nut hut, I can talk to someone about this. I felt his hands on my face, his fingers brushing away the tears.

I looked up at him. His confusion had slowly worn away. Now he was staring at me with concern. I needed to feel his lips on mine again. I needed it. He must've understood my silent request because I felt his mouth on mine a second later.

It was intense. He was almost breaking my face. But at the same time, I didn't want him to let up one bit. I was having a lot of mixed emotions about Robbie today. It wasn't helping that… This… Is sort of forced, I guess? I mean… I really want what's happening right now. But is it right to be considering this only because I want my daughter to go away?

When I put it like that, it seems extremely selfish. And I'm really not trying to be. I just want the best for Skyla and I just want my momma and dad to get back together.

Somewhere in my whirlwind of thoughts, I must've forgotten to keep moving my lips. He pulled his head away from mine. I jumped off the counter and looked at him again. I felt my hand gravitate towards his face and stroke his cheek.

I may or may not love him.

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><p><strong>Yeah, I totally quoted Ariana with the whole 'he's breaking my face' thing. Review for the children.<strong>


	15. Numbing

**Hey. Hi. Guess what. Fifty reviews. *Fangirl Squeal***

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><p>I could feel that there was a large awkwardness that was about to overtake.<p>

"We should go," I said, brushing by him and opening the door.

"W-Wait," he stuttered, stepping in front of me.

"Whatty?"

"What are you, like… Doing?" he asked.

He probably meant in the grand scheme of things, but I honestly didn't have an answer for that. I shrugged, causing him to exhale a sigh in response.

"Look, Robbie, don't worry about it, I almost have it figured out…"

"Almost?" he interrupted. "Almost!" he yelled in shock.

"Sh!" I hushed him, closing the door again. "I still have to test my theory."

He backed away slowly. "What's your _theory_?"

I sighed. "_My _mom and dad get back together right now, I get to go back, but I'm not leaving before Skyla goes back to where she belongs."

"And how do you intend on doing that?"

"Well, that's just up to you now, isn't it?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest and smirking. His reaction was priceless.

He looked around the bathroom, like he was either just realizing what was going on, or like he was looking for an escape. Either one seemed like a plausible explanation.

"Look, Robbie…" I threw my arms in the air, trying to find the correct phrase. "Time is in your hands now."

He nodded. "Right. Right. Right," he said, not realizing that he was just repeating himself.

"You just go back out there," I said, opening the door. "I'm gonna talk to Skyla about something."

"Wait, talk to her about what?" he asked.

"Just some stuff," I responded bluntly.

He stared at me for a moment. "What's your curfew?"

I snorted. "Yeah. Like they care if I come back."

His face brightened. Hey, that was a depressing statement. Why is he happy?

"Well, that's good, you can come over to my house tonight when I'm done helping Tori," he explained. "I wanna talk about some stuff too."

Wait a minute. He was actually taking responsibility for something that he actually had nothing to do with whatsoever?

Cool.

"You want me, you get Skyla too," I added as I walked down the hall, Robbie walking by my side.

"I wanna talk to her too," he said.

I stopped and looked at him. "Oh really?"

"Yup."

And with that, he walked over to the couch and sat next to Tori. I called for the little curly haired girl who was now sitting next to my dad. My mom was sitting next to him too, but as far away as possible.

I think that calls for an internal sigh.

A minute later I had led Skyla around the corner and out of sight. I knelt down on my knees. "I told your dad where you're from."

She looked confused. "But you said…"

"Look, I know what I said, and I just can't keep it a secret from him, okay?" I interrupted, narrowly avoiding a lecture from a little girl. She nodded her head. "Just don't talk to anyone about it unless I tell you it's okay, all right?"

She nodded again. "Okay."

I studied her for a minute. "Your hair is so pretty," I thought out loud.

I wish I had her hair.

"And now I'm leaving," she said, turning around and walking back out towards the living room.

I snarled at her even though she was long gone. "Brat."

Apparently the absence of Skyla for a few mere minutes had sent my parents over the edge. The first thing I saw as I returned to the living room was my mom and dad, both now on their feet, fighting for unnecessary reasons.

I took Robbie into account, his eyes darting between the scene my parents were making and me and Skyla watching from a distance. Tori had her head buried in her hands, again regretting her decision to let us come.

"Just leave!" I heard my mom yell, pointing at the door.

"No. I _won't _leave, how does that sound?" dad said calmly, making my mom look like a nutcase.

My mom put her arm down and looked at him. "Fine. I'll leave, how does that sound?" she said.

As I felt all three of our hearts silently crack, I saw mom walking towards the door.

"No!" dad yelled, grabbing her arm and pulling her back.

My foot started tingling. The kind of tingling that you get when it falls asleep. It felt exactly like that, and I couldn't wake it up. I kept shaking it, feeling like a dork while Skyla was watching me, smirking. I gave up and saw Robbie looking at me too. He looked worried. So was I. I had no idea what was going on.

I watched mom and dad again. She was struggling to get out of his grip. When she kept resisting, he grabbed her other arm with his free hand. That's when it hit me. My leg started hurting, full-frontal Charlie horse mode.

"Ah!" I squeaked, shaking it and walking around, trying desperately to subside the gnawing numbness.

Oh my God. It's every time they touch.

Robbie seemed to realize that at the same time as me, because I saw his head snap up and look around the room, his eyes settling on the door. He jumped up and ran towards it, opening it and peering out. "Oh my jelly beans, Beck, your car!" I faintly heard him yell.

The next thing I knew, the pain was fading in my leg. I looked up and realized that it was because dad had let go of mom and he was walking towards the door. Mom grabbed her purse and escaped out the back door, going unnoticed.

"Oh shoot, it must've been a different car," I heard Robbie say.

I turned my head in their direction just in time to see dad whack him upside the head and leave. For the first time, I prayed that he _wouldn't _go after mom. Robbie closed the door and looked in my direction. I saw his eyes catch Skyla's. That was the first time that they actually looked at each other, knowing that the other knew.

The moment didn't last very long, because then Tori was standing up and stretching, groaning. "Alright, that's it," she said, walking towards me and Skyla. "Everyone out."

Then I was being ushered out the door, barely being able to grab my bag. I actually could have left it in there. All that was in the purse was the ugly fake hair. Which was being buried.

I looked at Robbie for a second. But it must have been the longest second on earth, because I felt myself being pulled out of an actual trance as Skyla tugged on the hem of my shirt.

Robbie looked at us both. "Let's go."

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><p><strong>Not updating until this gets sixty reviews. I'm actually using that as an excuse. I'm organizing some stuff for one of my charities, and then I watched the Kony video and I was like… Game on, now I have another project. This would've been up even sooner if it weren't for that. Review for the children!<strong>


	16. Insecurities

**Lol, do I even have readers?**

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><p>The ride to Robbie's house actually wasn't as awkward as I had predicted. The only uncomfortable part about it was the bruise forming on my back caused by Skyla constantly kicking at my seat.<p>

"Skyla, God made the ground for a reason," I groaned, twisting my head to look at her.

She grunted and finally stuck her feet on the ground. I must be more lenient where she's from, but her attitude won't slide here. I already put up with my mom's disturbing personality, I'm not putting up with a mini one.

When we got to Robbie's driveway, I noticed that no cars were there. I get that feeling all the time when I get home and no one's there. It's almost like I've been abandoned again, every time. I bet Robbie doesn't feel that way, but it's just me.

I sat in the passenger seat, just looking at the house. All the lights were off, and no one was in there. It must've looked like I was deep in thought, because while Skyla was getting out of the car, Robbie was looking at me curiously.

"You okay?" he asked.

I smirked and turned my head to face his. "Define okay."

He smiled. Actually smiled. "Still breathing."

"Yup, I'm all good in that area," I replied.

I held his eyes for a moment longer. He looked tired, the last hour of stress making itself known. He has no idea. I may have only had a daughter for one afternoon, but I've _been _the daughter for over eight years.

I felt myself subconsciously leaning towards him. I found him doing the same. I felt the newly familiar warm escape as his lips touched mine. The one moment that nothing and no one could ruin – With the exception of the little girl on the front step, looking bored out of her mind.

I slowly pulled away and exited the vehicle, feeling her eyes burning holes in the back of my head. I walked relatively fast to the doorway, simply because I've always had this gnawing fear that someone could jump out of a bush at any moment and kidnap me, or in this case, her. Yeah. I was fearing for Skyla's life. Have been since this afternoon.

As I waited for Robbie to find his key in the dark night, I wrapped my arms around myself. I had been so involved in getting Skyla a jacket that I had forgotten to grab my own. But I guess that paid off for her, because she seemed perfectly content in her cowhide jacket, pretending that she was an invincible toughie.

I entered after Robbie and Skyla, closing and locking the door behind me. I was still superstitious, regardless of the fact that it was irrelevant. Robbie flicked on all the lights, and I honestly felt like a plane was about to land. I hate bright lights so much.

He walked over to the kitchen counter and appeared to be reading a sheet of paper. Skyla walked in the other direction, easily finding the coat closet and just throwing her jacket on an upper shelf. I guess it was normal for her to know where everything was. This was her grandparent's house.

She threw herself on the olive green velvet couch, pulling her feet up underneath her. She seemed more sure of herself now than she has been all day. I heard Robbie come up behind me, causing me to jump a little.

"Alright, no one's here," he said.

That paper obviously had some sort of confirmation. It was probably a letter from his parents. I caught him looking at Skyla, and vice versa. I saw that sense of insecurity start to wash over her again.

"Well…" I stated awkwardly, attempting to interrupt their stare-down.

Robbie turned his head to look at me. "Well what?"

"Well nothing," I said sheepishly, trying desperately to hide behind my hair.

"Who's the teeny bopper?" I heard a deep voice coming from the recliner in the corner.

Rex.

"Hi!" I greeted brightly.

He grunted. I watched Skyla slowly turn her attention towards where I was speaking. She took one look at the puppet and her eyes widened like saucers. She pushed herself back up against the couch, as far away from him as possible. I could tell she was holding in a high-pitched squeak.

"Uh… Robbie," I grabbed his arm. I pointed towards Skyla.

He looked at her for a second, taking in the fear on her face. He grabbed the dummy and threw him down the hallway, landing with an audible grunt.

"He's gone," Robbie said quickly.

Skyla poked her head out from behind her large mass of curls. "Good."

"Do you have anything to tell him, Skyla?" I asked her.

"Like what?" she replied with another question.

"Like… How did you get here, where are you from, how old are you, what grade are you in…"

I was only halfway through my batch of questions when Robbie interrupted me. "Just one at a time, Cat."

I inhaled deeply. "Alright. Do you remember how you got here?"

She looked around the room, her eyes darting everywhere. Her nerves were everywhere, overwhelming her. I could see it in her diverted eyes. "Skyla. You don't need to be afraid of us."

She looked at me and then Robbie. Robbie even attempted a smile for her. Her next words were all muddled together, spoken extremely fast."There were a lot of lights and there was a tunnel thingy and I couldn't see anything and I couldn't feel anything but it was scary and I really wanna go home."

"Okay, okay, calm down," I said, trying to soothe her. "It's all right. That's the same as how I got here. It's okay."

I heard Robbie starting to breathe heavily and stumble over his own words. "_Okay_? You're going to stand there and tell her that everything is _okay_? Are you _kidding_ me?" he said. Well. Yelled.

I put my hands on my hips. I would be taking no more drama tonight. "At least I'm not _shou_-_ting_ it," I said, pronouncing each syllable clearly.

"Okay," he said, recollecting himself.

"Okay," I repeated, trying to piece the slightest bit of sanity back into the room. "In other news… While I was in _pain_ today," I took a step closer to Skyla, "You found it hilarious."

"Because it was," she said bluntly.

"It was not!" I defended. My leg was still numb. "Well," I took a step back towards Robbie. I grabbed his arm roughly. "Do you feel anything?" I asked her.

She looked down at her legs. "No."

I let go of Robbie and faced him. "They must have been at a breaking point or something."

"What, and we're not?" he asked, confused.

"It would appear not, we'll figure it out later," I muttered.

Skyla's loud yawn brought us both out of our thoughts.

"You tired?" I asked her.

She nodded, her eyes drooping. I didn't blame her. It was extremely late, especially for her, considering she was… I didn't even know how old she was yet.

"Well," I dropped my hands to my side. "Let's go back to my house, babydoll. You can get some sleep there."

"Wait!" Robbie exclaimed.

"What?" Skyla and I both asked.

"Just… Stay," he said.

I looked over at Skyla, who looked like she was about to pass out from exhaustion.

"I have a guest bedroom," he continued to plead.

I looked back and forth between the two of them. God, they were both desperate for their desires. One of them wanted me to talk to them and one wanted to faint.

I shrugged and exhaled dramatically. "Fine."

* * *

><p><strong>I'll be back soon, that's the ticket. <strong>


	17. Wobbling

Y'all are fantastic. While I voted repeatedly for iCarly, congrats to Victorious for their first win. Isn't it lovely?

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><p>"Just try to sleep, all right?" I asked, pulling the comforter over her small frame.<p>

She squirmed and fidgeted under the sheets. "What's gonna happen to me?"

_Beats me, kid._ "You're gonna sleep."

"And what about when I wake up?" she asked.

I shrugged. "We won't know until you do."

She gave me an evil glare and rolled over onto her side. I smirked and stood up, walking towards the door. "You want this light on or off?"

"Off," she mumbled into the pillow.

I flicked down the switch and closed the door behind me as I exited. I didn't pester her for a 'please' this time. I slumped back into the living room, landing with a heavy thud on the couch next to Robbie.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Hey," he responded. "So this theory of yours… When does it get put into action?" he asked.

I smiled. "Still up to you."

"Well maybe I don't want it to be up to me," he said.

I sighed. "She just wants to go home. I don't even care about me anymore. I'm a hopeless case in this area. I've been here for almost a decade. I don't think I'm ever going back," I said glumly. I saw him shift to face me. "It's not too late for her, though. Not yet."

He propped his arm against the back of the couch and put his hand on his head. "What you said earlier."

I turned my eyes to meet his.

He continued. "About them almost being at a breaking point. What did you mean?"

"I just…" I pulled my legs up underneath me. "Beck and Jade… My dad and mom… They both are well aware that they love each other. They're obviously helpless without each other," I felt my voice wobbling. "And the closer they come to getting back together, then… Then the closer I am to going back home."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" he asked.

"Of course," I answered quickly. "But now I have Skyla to think about." I looked down at my hands in my lap. "And you."

I could feel him moving closer to me. "What do you need to do to get her back?" he whispered.

I pivoted my head towards him. "Well. You and I would most likely have to have a romantic montage of some sort which ultimately makes us fall in love."

He let out a breath that he had obviously been holding in. He stood up and grabbed my arm, pulling me with him. "Let's start now, then."

I could feel his breath on my face. I smiled. "Isn't it too late for a romantic montage?"

"Oh, it's never too late for a romantic montage," he joked.

I nodded. "True true."

A moment later I felt his lips on mine again. I took this one minute to stop thinking about my mother and father. Not only were they the biggest hot messes to ever walk the planet, maybe behind me, it was also very disturbing to think about my parents while I am having a romantic montage with the guy I may or may not be in love with.

As he pulled away and started walking towards the kitchen, I realized that he still had a grip on my wrist. I tripped over my own feet and almost came tumbling to the hard wood ground. He pulled me back up before the worst happened. I started to feel like a ragdoll with all the flipping and flopping I'd gone through today.

"Ya know, it's not gonna be a very effective romantic montage if you're gonna spend it on the floor," he said.

"It's not gonna be a very effective romantic montage if you keep bringing up the fact that it's a romantic montage," I joked.

"Say it again," he said.

"Say what?"

"Romantic montage."

"Romantic montage."

He smirked and I could feel the all-too-familiar giggle forming in the back of my throat. I soon let it out when I realized the stupidity of the current conversation. He led me to the barstools lining the granite countertop. He crossed to the other side and set a large glass container of orange puffs in front of me.

I smirked and unscrewed the lid. I popped one of the edible delicacies in my mouth. "Cheese puffs, my, how charming."

"Oh, don't give me that," he begged.

I raised my eyebrows in response. "What do you mean?"

"I _mean_," he took one of the snacks for himself. "I woke up this morning single and childless. I didn't prepare for a romantic montage."

"You and me both," I replied smoothly.

Now it was his turn to raise his eyebrows.

* * *

><p>At precisely 1:13 o'clock on a very early Tuesday morning, I was fully in love with Robbie Shapiro. After various musical and dance adventures varying from hoedowns to 1950s jitterbugs; and a fine cuisine of corn chips and hot sauce, I'd had the full romantic montage experience.<p>

Before then, at 1:00 o'clock, Robbie had sat back down on the couch, wrapping his arms around me. We had been entertaining ourselves with the Shapiro's extensive collection of romantic comedies on DVDs. And as I watched Henry Roth spy Lucy Whitmore building her advanced house of waffles, I felt his breath on my neck, moving towards my ear.

"I love you."

I tilted my head back, leaning on his shoulder. My smile slowly stretched into a grin. My next words were supposedly important, but at the time they came naturally.

"I love you too."

He didn't attempt to mask his smile. "How was it that most romantic montages end?"

"Hmm," I mused. "Refresh my memory."

As soon as I felt his lips come down on mine is when I heard the screaming.

* * *

><p>*Does the troll dance* And a cliff hanger to you, too!<p> 


	18. Exchange

Guys, I don't think you're getting it. Skyla and Cat are from two completely different alternate universes, both with different stories and people. I know. To quote my favorite troll, Dan: "Even I don't get it."

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><p>"Cat! Cat! It hurts!"<p>

Skyla. I jumped off the couch and pulled Robbie with me. I ran down the hallway, this sudden wave of fear washing over me. My only care in the world was making sure she was okay. The screaming stopped and a whole new worry rushed through me. I practically kicked open the door while Robbie stood behind me, begging me to stay calm.

I flicked on the light. The first thing I saw was Skyla just standing next to the bed, inspecting her legs like they were just bitten off by sharks.

"Skyla!" I yelled, gripping her shoulders tightly. "Are you okay?" I screamed at her. I didn't mean to, but I did.

"Yeah, I'm…" she looked at her hands strangely. "Fine?" she finished, fear and confusion in her voice.

Just as she said that, the wooden door came flying backwards and made contact with the bedroom wall, soon crashing off it's hinges and onto the floor. Skyla was screaming. I was screaming. Robbie only tried to calm us down for a minute before he gave up and started screaming. It was probably very funny from a comedic standpoint, but in our positions, it was terrifying.

After the door came down, a huge gust of light took its places, even more blinding than the janitor's closet. I stopped screaming when I realized Skyla had fallen silent. I looked down at her. She was inspecting her hands again, the same way she was when I kicked the door open.

I kicked the door down.

I knelt down beside her. "Skyla, are you all right?" I gripped her forearms and she gasped.

"I can't feel anything," she whispered.

A memory swooped through my brain in a millisecond. I remember this light. The tunnel, the vortex, the whatever. I had successfully fallen in love with Robbie and opened the light for Skyla.

"I-It's okay," I stuttered. Robbie looked at me strangely. "You get to go back now," I confirmed, my voice getting caught in my throat.

She nodded her head slowly.

"Okay," I said. I kissed her forehead lightly. "I love you and I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," she repeated. She turned to Robbie. "Beam me up, Scotty."

Robbie smirked. "I did teach you something in the future, kid," he said, high-fiving her.

I smiled at their exchange and faced the fierce reality. Skyla had to go. I saw my bag sitting in the corner of the room. I rooted through it until I found what I was looking for. The gigantic sunglasses.

I carefully put them over her eyes. "Here. You're gonna need 'em."

"Thanks," she said, turning towards the light.

I squealed a bit, realizing that she had finally used manners. I got over it relatively quickly as soon as she said "Later, losers."

A minute later, she was gone, the light going with her. At least she had the glasses. She could remember. Well… I don't know the rules on that. Maybe she'd remember me, maybe she wouldn't. It won't matter to anybody as soon as _I_ get back.

My mom and dad.

We have to fix them.

That's all that I have to do now.

That's all.

Fix them.

I turned to Robbie. "Sorry about your door."

* * *

><p>Kinda short, but significant, don't you think? Later, losers.<p> 


	19. Understatement

** Hi! So, thank you to the wonderful reader who nominated this story for a Topaz Award! I was pleased to find out that it was runner up in the Alternate Universe category, so… Ooh la la! Should I change the category to romance/**_**scifi**_**? Yeah, I think I should. But this story is so many categories. Anyways, thanks for the nomination! You earned this chapter, my friend.**

* * *

><p>Robbie looked at the door lying on the floor, then at the shattered lamp in the corner. "I-It's cool," he stuttered in response to my apology. He looked up at me. "You should get some sleep. Maybe you'll get five hours."<p>

"What about you?" I whispered. I could still feel Skyla's presence and to be honest, it left me cheerless.

"I'll worry about my own sleeping pattern. You've had a longer day than me," he said bluntly.

I think he missed her, too.

I shrugged my shoulders. "All right." I placed a kiss on his lips. I could feel them trembling against mine. Or it may have been the other way around. I was probably shaking without noticing. In fact, it was highly likely. I walked into the hallway. I took one last glance at him. He was on his knees, picking up the tinier glass pieces in the palm of his hand.

I sighed and walked back into his living room, the stereotypical love story still playing on the TV. I found the remote in the darkness and turned it off, not in the mood for a happy ending. It doesn't matter if I get to go back to the future. What if I remember _here_? What if I never forget about Robbie? And how in an alternate universe, I have a daughter with him? And in the same way… What if I do forget? Do I _want_ to forget about this?

I felt like I was in a glass case of emotion as I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and curled up in it. I had a feeling that if I was going to get any sleep tonight, it wouldn't be five hours. It would probably be five minutes at the most.

I've been waiting for this moment. I've been waiting for this moment for eight and a half years. I should be ecstatic about this. I know what I have to have my momma and dad do so I can get back. And here I am, debating whether or not I should enforce it. This should be an easy decision for me. I should want my mom and dad together so I can go back. But at the same time, I don't.

And what if Skyla hadn't had shown up? Would she never have been born? Was she the one who got Robbie and I together in the first place? But that was in this universe. She's in a parallel universe. And I'm from a whole _other_ life. What's next, alien kittens come and drag me back to the future?

I'm too young to be having these thoughts. I was way too young to be having these thoughts when I was eight. Then again, I'm the one who got myself here. I was… A bully. That's why I'm here. And, as sad as it is to admit, that's why Skyla was here, too. She was a bully.

Well… I want to go back. If I had to pick, I would go back to the future and start over. My parents loved me there and more importantly, they were together. That's what I care about. Robbie knows that I care about that more than anything right now. But that's who I'm worried about right now. Robbie.

He already lost Skyla. And now he knew in his subconscious that he was about to lose me, too. And I know how that feels. To lose everyone who cared about you in the least bit. Robbie is the only one who cares about me. And saying that all his parents left for him was a note, I'm the only one who cares about him.

It's just too much. It's always been too much, hasn't it? That's why I'm such a wreck. That's why I overreact to absolutely everything, isn't it? Because the last time something small happened, I ended up here. And ending up here is the best and worst thing that's ever happened to me.

It just sickens me how everyone 'love's each other, but no one really likes one another. Can we just take the example of my parents here? Matt and Lisa tell me that they love me all the time. They throw around the word 'love' like it's a Frisbee. Well, love means something to me. When I told Robbie that I loved him, I meant it. I meant that I felt something indescribable. And when I heard Skyla yelling in pain, I kicked open a door because I loved her to death. And when I told her that, I meant it.

And I haven't felt love up until today. At least, not in this world. And that's what keeps me holding on to nothing here. I looked at my wrist to find that I had put on a watch this morning. The glow-in-the-dark face showed me that it was 2:46. And time had been dropkicked out the window by my thoughts.

My mom and dad were still at a breaking point. They could get together tomorrow for all I know. And there would be nothing I could do to stop it. They would tell each other they're still in love, I would feel that searing pain go through me again, the light tunnel would open up again and I'd have to go back, end of story.

I heard a rustling and then I heard footsteps in the room. "Robbie?" I asked. I saw the figure stop in its tracks, but he didn't respond. I turned on the lamp on the table beside me. I could say I was shocked, but that may be an understatement.

Tori.

* * *

><p><strong>Nah nah nah nah nah nah! So what if I got runner up. I didn't win, so you get a cliff hanger. <strong>


	20. Unlocked

Well apparently quite a few of you voted for me. I didn't even know about it until after the voting was closed, so… Boo me. Anyway, here's your update to the puzzle that is Somewhere Only I Know.** Caution: Refresh your memory and read the prologue again. **I'll be tying in some things.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Cat," she said weekly, smoothing down the front of her pink blouse. Her dark blue sweatshirt jacket hung loosely over her shoulders and her hair was damp.<p>

I heard the thunder and a crack of lightning, confirming where she had been.

"What're you doing here?" I mumbled, tiredly.

I could see the fear in her eyes as she shrugged. She held up a soggy textbook in her hand. She placed it on the coffee table. "I followed you guys here," she wiped her hands on her dark wash jeans, "Quite a while ago."

"It took you three hours to return a book?" I asked, confused and fatigued.

She took a step closer to the couch. I wrapped the blanket tighter around me, as if it would protect me. "Well, no, not exactly," she answered.

"So, what?" I asked. "You thought you'd run a few midnight errands?" I questioned.

"Cat, just give me a chance to explain and I will," she said.

I looked at my pink watch again. Nope, not sleeping tonight. Not one wink. I stood up and walked towards the kitchen. I looked back at her. "Fine."

She breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the counter stool. "Look, Cat – "

I hushed her. "Be quieter. Robbie's probably asleep."

She nodded and lowered her voice. With that, she began her long drawn out explanation. "From the beginning, shall we?" she started. "I noticed that Robbie had left his school book at my house when I kicked you and him and Skyla out.

"It wasn't that late then so I followed him here. I would have just given it to him, but then I saw that you and Skyla were with him. So I went back home. I went to my room to study, but I was only there for about a minute when Trina came home and started yelling at my dad about some guy friend of hers.

"My mom told me that I could go outside for a little bit while my dad lectured Trina on respecting authority or something like that. So I came right back here, expecting that you and Skyla would be gone."

She paused and looked at me. I obviously was still here, so the story obviously wasn't complete. I was getting kind of upset with her mentioning Skyla so often. Skyla was just another reminder that I _did_ have important people here. But she kept going.

"I was going to leave the book on the porch, but then I heard screaming, and the door was unlocked, so I just came in. And I went to where the screaming was coming from, which was… The guest bedroom."

My mind flashed back to the screaming in the guest bedroom. And if Tori witnessed that, then she heard. She heard everything.

"And I stood in the hallway and watched. And what I watched… Did not make sense at all at first," she said, looking down at her hands.

My breath caught in my throat. So maybe she didn't know.

And, but of course, I was wrong again.

"But I eventually got it," she finished. She looked back at me. "Is there a reason that you – "

"Stop making this complicated, Tori," I interrupted. "You know. Fine. Whatever. You know how Skyla's from somewhere completely different than here and I just had her ripped away from me so she could go back, but you don't know everything."

Tori raised her hands in defeat. "Cat, I didn't say that I knew everything. But I do know more than you think."

I raised my eyebrows in interest.

"I just… Came to seemingly obvious conclusions," she said. There was an awkward pause as I tried to figure out what the obvious conclusions were. "Like… How if Skyla's not your cousin, but you're still caring for her, she's not a stranger to you. Meaning you know her from where she's from. And somehow, Robbie's roped into that."

Yup, she knew more than I thought.

"Is Skyla… your d – "

"_Was_," I interrupted quickly, not wanting to hear that one word. I was sick of hearing it. "Okay, she _was_. But she's not here anymore and Robbie was her…" I stopped, but she already knew. I left it hanging. "I'm pretty sure that he misses her, too, so it'd be great if you'd stop bringing her up in this conversation that we shouldn't even be having," I rambled.

"Cat, I'm sorry… You wanted me to explain and I did."

The most dangerous thought entered my head at that moment. "Tori…You're not gonna tell anyone…"

She looked down at her shaking hands on the countertop again. I grabbed them to get her attention.

"TORI! YOU CAN'T TELL ANYONE!" I yelled, not caring if Robbie was asleep or not.

"But, Cat! I – "

"Tori!" I leaned over the counter and closer to her. "This is none of your business and you shouldn't even know about this or be here! You don't have any right to tell anyone because if you do they'll have me questioned by someone with some massive authority, and guess what? I have too much at stake here to be put in a wacky shack!" I yelled at her, about an inch from her face.

"Cat, I'm not gonna tell anyone, I can help you!" she replied, loudly, but not nearly as loud as me.

I shook my head and let go of her hands. "No," I pointed towards the door. "Leave, please."

She rolled her eyes dramatically and sighed, walking towards the door.

Wait. _I can help you. _Tori was a lot of things, but not a liar. Okay. Decision on a whim time. "No stay!"

* * *

><p>The more reviews there are, the closer you get to Bade. Keep that in mind. And as for the readers who only started reading this for Bade, I hope I've made a Cabbie shipper out of you, too. It's occurred to me that I'm writing like season one Cat. Because, as we all know, she turned into a five-year-old in season two and progressively gets younger.<p> 


	21. Working

Meltdowns ahead. Happy Mother's Day. I figured since I hate spending time with my family, it'd be the perfect time to whip out my laptop and get a move on this belated story. Whoop whoop.

* * *

><p>"Just sit," I said, pointing towards the couch.<p>

She timidly walked in the direction of my index finger. "You're not gonna, like… Hold me hostage, right?" she asked, sitting down.

I was about to respond when I heard footsteps trampling down the hallway. I saw Robbie's flushed face appear, his glasses missing, out of breath. Apparently the glasses had a rather large effect, for then he tripped and landed face first on the plush carpet.

"Robbie!" I yelled, grabbing his arm and pulling him up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he responded, brushing the dust-bunnies off of his pajama pants.

I took his face in my hands. "Are you sure? Where are your glasses?"

I saw him smile lightly at my overbearing-three-in-the-morning nature. "I'm fine, baby," he said again, bringing my hands back down to my sides.

I relaxed a little bit, my breath slowing down. I was overreacting to everything lately. I guess that if you were in my place, everything would be worthy of overreacting. I suddenly remembered that we weren't alone. I turned to face Tori, who was now standing by the couch. Robbie looked in the direction of my eyesight . He squinted, his eyes hardly making out the figure in the corner. But he knew who it was.

He jumped to conclusions. Practically jumped down her throat. "Why are you here? How long have you been here?"

"Robbie," I grabbed his face again. "You need to calm down."

"I am calm!" he shouted. He lowered his voice. "I am calm," he tried again.

Tori bud in. "Robbie, it's really not what you think…"

Robbie put my hands down again. "How would you know what I think? You wanna know what I _really_ think? I don't think anything. I legitimately believe that if a big lightning bolt struck through my house _right now_ and destroyed everything, I would find it completely normal. You wanna know why? Because the amount of garbage I've gone through today is just so…"

"Robbie!" I interrupted, grabbing his wrists. I felt all the anxiety building up inside me. I just didn't know that Robbie was this screwed up, too. Tori was sitting down again, cowering in fear. I turned my head to face him. He was still squinting at Tori. I grabbed his chin and locked my eyes with his. "Look at me," I tightened my hold on his chin. "She doesn't. Know. Everything." I looked at her again, then back to Robbie. "But we're gonna tell her."

He started shaking his head. "No, no you can't."

"Robbie. This is my problem, and I'm sorry you got roped into it, but I need her help and this is not your responsibility," I said calmly, trying to slow his heartbeat.

It obviously wasn't working yet. "Cat, _you_ are my responsibility, I'm not going to let you let this get out of hand," he rambled, taking a step closer to me.

I can ramble just as bad, though. "And how long have you known Tori? What, three years? You don't think that Tori is my friend? You don't think that Tori is _your_ friend? You don't think that she's a trustworthy person?"

I could sense that Tori was feeling supremely awkward, due to the fact that we were talking about her like she wasn't there. She would get used to it.

Robbie continued. "I never said that, Cat. I never said that she wasn't a trustworthy person, but this is your _life_. This is _everything_, you can't tell people _everything_," he sneered through clenched teeth.

"I trusted _you_ with everything!" I yelled.

"Yeah, you did, and look at where you are now! You think that I have any more of a clue of what I'm doing than you already do?" he snapped.

"No! No, I don't think you have a clue! But you wanna know why I told you? Because I am just so sick of doing this _alone_. Robbie, I was _alone_. And now I'm not, so no, I don't have any regrets that I told you, because guess what, you deserved to know because this involves you and I actually believe that Tori can help me, or help _us_, with this, now why don't you pull your head out of your butt and wake up!" I shouted, not taking breaks to use unnecessary breaths.

I could sense Robbie was starting to regain his bearings during my speech. By the time I was done, he was hugging me to his chest, slowly lowering himself to the floor, taking me with him. And I was sobbing vehemently. "It's okay, you're all right, it's okay, baby, it's okay," was all I could hear above the white noise in my head. I could feel him rocking me back and forth on the floor, his arms wrapped around me, my face buried in his chest. "You're okay," he said, stroking the matted hair on the back of my head.

"No!" I screamed bloody murder, wrapping my arms around his neck tightly, almost strangling him. "NO!"

I need my mom and dad. I need them. I can't take it, I need my mom and dad. I need them. I need them. I need them.

* * *

><p>As much as I feel bad for what I'm doing to Cat, I kind of feel worse for Tori and her awkward bystander position. Lol. <strong>Review it like it's hot.<strong> Oh, and if I don't update that often, it's because I have a new pit bull to train. The vet was hilarious, though. "Well, you're a pit bull! But I'm gonna write down 'boxer mix'! Ya know, just for insurance reasons." Laughin' my apples off.


	22. Proximity

Poor Cat, poor Robbie, poor Tori, poor Beck, poor Jade, poor Trina and André who don't have a really big part in this story…

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><p>I don't remember blacking out. I suppose that's why they call it blacking out. You just fade away, and you don't remember. You can't remember. All I could feel was the warm embrace of the boy holding me, the carpet beneath me. It was bliss until I remembered everything else. Until I remembered what happened <em>before<em> I blacked out.

I begrudgingly rubbed my eyes, yesterday's mascara rubbing off on my hand. It was probably in streaks all over my face, as well. I released my clutch on the front of Robbie's shirt and looked at the large classic clock on the wall. Seven. We had an hour to be _in_ Sikowitz's class.

His head was slumped against the wall behind him, his eyes shut tight, arms wrapped around my stomach. "Robbie," I spoke quietly at first, progressively getting louder. "Robbie, wake up."

He slowly started to come to, his arms unwrapping around me. I stood up and held my hand out for him. "Come on, we gotta go to school."

He looked around the room and back up at me. "No."

I retracted my arm. "What do you mean?"

He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "You're wearing a pair of my pajamas, you don't have any clothes here, you slept for ten minutes last night, you've been traumatized enough to last a lifetime, we're already late, and we look like monsters who haven't bathed in months."

I looked down at my bare feet. "Oh."

This time he offered his hand to me, pulling me down onto his lap. He returned to his original position, a cocoon around me. Then the offense kicked in.

"You really think I look like a monster?" I asked, crooking my neck to face him.

He smiled lightly. He took my face in his hands, his thumbs wiping away the smudges under my eyes. "Yes."

I gasped and pulled away from him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"C'mere," he responded pulling me to him again, resting his lips on my head. "You're beautiful," he mumbled.

I felt my muscles become less tensed, little by little. The dreaded thought of last night occurred to me, filling my mind with unanswered questions. "Where's Tori?" I asked, leaning my head against his shoulder.

"She, uh. She left," he replied, rather vaguely.

Knowing that I wasn't going to get any more answers out of him, I reached into my sweatshirt pocket for my phone. I'd get information myself.

"Who are you calling?" he pestered.

"Beck," I responded smoothly, not wanting to start with the 'which father' confusion.

"Cat," Robbie said in a warning voice. "Do not do anything you're going to regret."

I sighed and looked up at him. The worry in his eyes was subtle, but apparent. I gently hit the end call button on the phone and handed it to him. He was right. I was already in over my head.

He put the light pink accessory in his pocket. "So," he started, taking a breath. "Do you think she's told anybody?"

He was obviously referring to Tori. And I told him the honest truth. "No. I really don't."

He pulled me with him as he stood up, yawning as he did so. "Cat," he took my face in his hands, just like I had done to him last… morning. "From now on, don't let me tell you what to do, okay? It _is_ your life and your decisions. You can do whatever you want," he said, putting his arms around my waist and pulling me closer to him.

I shook my head. "No. I need you. Okay, I'm not making my own decisions anymore. It's too hard, and all I do is screw up and sob violently, so just…"

My lips were silenced as his crashed down on mine, the proximity being my only sweet escape. I kissed him back eagerly, my hands falling on his shoulders. If I could stop time, I would.

But I think we've established that I can't.

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><p>Can you believe it's been almost three months since I started this? Hey, readers. You realize that I'm able to look at the traffic stats, right? <strong>300 of you read that last chapter, and it only got four reviews<strong>. Knock it off, or you get another hiatus.


	23. Sidestepping

I'm more into this story than you guys are. *Yuk yuk yuk* I keel myself.

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><p>"I mean… If you just leave… I would miss you," he said, chomping down on one of the cheese puffs, wiping his orange fingers on the velvet couch. "But I would never forget you," he added.<p>

I crisscrossed my legs as I sat. "…But is that a good or a bad thing?" I questioned.

"I bet it would be like… Skyla," he said, struggling to say the name we had avoided all morning. "I'm always gonna remember her and smile when I think about her," he explained. I couldn't help but notice that he was, indeed, smiling lightly. "But I'll still miss her."

I smirked. "You should hate her."

His head snapped up to look at me. "Why would you say something like that?"

"She's the reason I'm at your house right now. If she hadn't had showed up, we would both be at school and I'd be doing what I've been doing for the last eight years," I shrugged.

He blinked slowly, taking a breath. "I thought you said you didn't regret any of that."

"I don't," I said, looking down at my hands. "I feel guilty."

"Aren't guilt and regret the same thing?" he asked.

I shook my head, raising my eyes to meet his. I kept my head lowered, though. "No."

A few moments of silence passed in which I avoided the truth will all my might. Luckily, his voice broke through my thoughts.

"Hey," he started, waiting for me to look up at him. I obliged and he continued. "Do you realize that in an alternate universe, we partake in baby-making activities?"

I think I may have legitimately snorted at that one. I lightly slapped his arm. "Shut up."

I knew his intentions were pure, though. He wanted to take the focus away from what I was dreading. And it was semi-working. My mind was like a mill. No… It was more like a big blob of spaghetti noodles. Everything was twisted and tangled up, and I kept changing from subject to subject. In my head, the topic at hand changed in an instant. It would go from my parents, to my brother, to the turtle I had when I was five. It was ridiculous. And I appreciate Robbie for trying to get my mind… Off of my mind.

My brother. My brother was the only person I considered family here. I mean, sure, we don't talk to each other and he avoids me. But that's what brothers are supposed to do. It feels realistic. Nothing else does.

"So," he began again. "Do you _want_..."

"I want to go back," I interrupted, not wanting to discuss this anymore than I had to. Get it over with. Like a bandage. "I want to finish this. I don't have any control over it anymore. If Beck and Jade get together _right now,_ I'm gonna have to go back. It's not my decision." I looked down, avoiding the hurt in his eyes. "You were sidestepping that, weren't you?"

"Of course I was," he responded quickly – in his 'wasn't it obvious' tone.

"Me too," I added glumly, reaching into the snack bowl again.

We threw the puffs in the air, catching them in synchronization.

I heard him take a deep breath. "Then let's do it."

I stared at him confusedly. He couldn't possibly mean… "Do what?"

"Let's get you back," he said, reaching into his pocket.

In the next instant I saw the green Pear Phone in his hand, already rapidly pressing digits.

I stood up quickly, walking closer to him. "W-Wait, who are you calling?"

"Tori," he said, holding the phone to his ear.

"Tori, why Tori? Tori?" I repeated hurriedly, anxiety coursing through my veins.

But he was already talking to her. "Yeah, Tori? Hey, remember what we talked about last night?"

I desperately reached out for the phone, trying to take it away. But he kept fidgeting and pulling it just out of my reach.

He was on his feet now. "Yeah. Uh-huh. Let's do it. Mm-kay, bye."

And then the phone was back in his pocket, just like that.

I looked at him in shock. "What did you do? What is she doing?" I yelled.

"A favor," he said simply, smirking.

I knew what he was up to. Oh my God. "You… You planned my…" I struggled for the right word. "Departure?"

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><p>Do you know what it's like to train a pit bull. Do you. Do you really.<p> 


	24. Reaching

Sorry 'bout the wait.

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><p>He smirked. "No. But now I know how you really feel about this," he said, snapping the phone shut.<p>

Fake phone call. "You tricked me," I concluded, closing my eyes.

"You tricked yourself," he replied smoothly, leaning against the wall.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I questioned. Or more like interrogated.

"You said you wanted to leave. You don't," he said, pushing himself off the wall. I could feel his presence drawing nearer to me as I scrambled through my spaghetti-brained mind for a response.

I knew what I wanted to say. It was embarrassing, however. Which was stupid of me. I had no reason to be embarrassed in front of Robbie. He knew everything about me. More than Matt or Lisa probably ever would. And _they_ have my medical records. I guess it's just a natural insecurity of mine. To just… not say it for fear of being judged.

I wrapped my arms around his torso, my head fitting into the crook of his neck. "I don't wanna go," I whispered.

"Glad to see you faced the truth."

I jumped five miles in the air. That was not Robbie's voice. That was a very certain voice. But not Robbie's.

It was Beck's. My dad's.

Robbie sighed and smacked his palm against his face. "First of all, I wish you people would stop randomly appearing in my house. And secondly, I don't care what you know or if you really are Beck, or how you found out – "

"Robbie," I interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Breathe," I said, handing him a water bottle from the counter.

He sipped from it slowly, narrowing his eyes at my dad. Like he was prepared to attack. He handed me the bottle back, still managing not to break eye contact with him. I felt a headache coming on as I took a swig from the bottle myself, wishing the drink was something much stronger.

"Look. Cat," my dad said, taking a step closer.

Robbie took a step in front of me, blocking his path.

"Rob, come on," my dad said, pleading him to let up.

"Beck, come on," Robbie said in a mimicking tone.

I giggled. It probably wasn't the appropriate time to giggle, but I giggled. I straightened up, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "Robbie," I pardoned.

"What?" he asked harshly, his expression going softer when he faced me.

"Take a knee," I said, patting him on the shoulder.

With a final confused grunt at my dad, he backed away, standing just ten feet behind me. As my eyes met my dad's for the first time, I could see that he was actually scared. Like he was scared of what he knew. _Join the club_.

"Do you, um…" I started, trailing off. _Do you know?,_ I added mentally, hoping he would pick up.

He hung his head. He knew.

I hadn't realized that I had been gravitating towards him until I felt his arms forming a cocoon around me, like he had the day of the earthquake.

"Tori told you, didn't she?" I concluded.

He didn't respond, opting to simply tighten his clench around my torso. I didn't mind.

"Does Jade…?"

"No," he interrupted.

I don't know why his response hit home. But it did. I could feel my stomach churning as I abruptly pulled away from his embrace. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

I heard Robbie walking closer, once again stepping in front of me. "What did you say to her?" he interrogated my dad again.

"Nothing! I-I didn't…"

I cut him off. "Beck, stop. Robbie…" I looked around the room, my eyes landing on the water bottle again.

I popped the cap off and poured some in my hand, splashing it in Robbie's face. He needed to cool off, literally. His face was redder than usual, and there was practically steam coming out of his ears. I saw my dad chuckle lightly, biting down on his fist.

I waved my hand at him, hushing him silently. I took Robbie's damp cheeks in my hands. "You cool?" I asked, taking the wet glasses off his face and setting them on the counter.

"Yep, I'm cool," he said, his voice back to the good old Robbie.

"Good," I replied, taking my hands down and wiping the wet palms on the pajama pants I hadn't bothered to get out of. "It's just… Surreal, okay? All of _this_," I paused, turning towards my dad, "is surreal. The fact that I've been here for a total of eight years and I've totally grown up in the wrong universe… And that you're just finding out… That's surreal to me." My dad hung his head again, not knowing how to respond to that. I didn't expect him to. I turned to Robbie. "And _you_ need to stop freaking out. It's not helping anything."

"I'm just trying to-"

"Trying to what," I quizzed. "Trying to turn back time? 'Cause it's not working."

He hung his head, as well. _Great_.

I broke the silence with a question one of them had to answer. "What time is it?"

"Like three," my dad said, running a hand through his hair. "I ditched my last class."

"Isn't that the class you have with Jade?" I asked.

"Look, Tori told me, and I didn't believe her, and then she showed me some picture of some little girl-"

"Skyla," Robbie and I both said. Skyla. What a dramatic role she played in my many lives.

"Yeah, Skyla…" he continued. "And she said something about some alternate universe and I didn't believe her, and then she started talking about how I didn't believe her about 'Ponnie' and I still didn't believe her and then she slapped me…" He paused, looking down at his oh-so-fascinating shoes. "And here I am."

I saw Robbie glancing at me out of the corner of my eye. My peripheral vision was doing a lot of work lately. I sighed and rolled my eyes at both of them, reaching for my sweater. "Whatever. My only words are advice are if you have any negative thoughts, keep 'em to yourself. We've got enough," I said, walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"What are you doing?" my dad asked simultaneously, much more casually than Robbie had.

I gave a curt nod in their direction. "I'm going to speak to a certain half-Latina friend of mine."


	25. Enough

**Boo.**

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><p>I spotted the Vega's car near the back of the Hollywood Arts parking lot. Tori had only been driving for a week and she already had her own car. Luckily, she was still as inexperienced with maintenance as she ever was. The car wasn't locked in the slightest bit, so I faced no struggle hiding in the back seat just as the 3:30 bell rang, releasing the students at once. Tori came out five minutes later, climbing in the front seat and bracing herself to start driving. I stopped her in her tracks.<p>

"Hello," I said quietly.

She screamed, which was expected. That was absolutely my intent. I needed my payback somehow. When faced with opportunity of scaring the living crap out of someone, I won't ever be the person to pass that up.

She twisted her back to look behind her, settling her eyes on me. A look of fear registered on her face as soon as she realized it was me. She masked it with a quivering smile. "Hi, Cat…"

"Oh hush!" I climbed over the car's center to make my way into the passenger seat. "Why'd you tell?" I asked when I was settled.

"Well, um… Don't you think he deserved to know? I mean, this involves him, too," she attempted to explain, rubbing at the back of her neck nervously.

I stared at her, trying to reason with her logic. "Did he deserve to know? Yes. Does this involve him? Sure does. Did you have the right to tell him? No. You didn't, not one bit. This has nothing to do with you, Tori. This has to do with me, Jade, Beck, and even Robbie, but it has absolutely _nothing_ to do with you. For some freak reason, you know what you know. But so far, you've done nothing but abuse this knowledge and take this problem to a place where it does not need to be," I ranted. I've been doing a lot of that lately.

"Cat, I can help you with this!" she tried to rebuttal.

"How? How have you helped me so far?" I quizzed. "Because as far as I can tell, all you've done is tell a seventeen year old boy he has a sixteen year old daughter from the future who needs him to fall in love with his ex-girlfriend so she can go back her universe where she was transported from eight and a half years ago!"

Now I was mad. Now I had more to say. "But maybe she doesn't want to go back! Maybe she has friends here, maybe she's made too many memories here, maybe she's _found love_ here! Maybe that love would be utterly ripped to shreds because her love in this place isn't from her parallel world and she'd never get to see him again! And that it just so happens that in a whole other world, they have their own freakishly adorable ginger daughter that she won't ever get to see again. Ever!

"Maybe she wants to stay here so she can get to know her brother that she never had! Maybe she'd at least like to say a few proper words to him!" I was mad. There was an ache in my chest that made me feel as if I were about to explode. I lowered my voice an octave, at most. This isn't what I'd wanted for my future when I was eight. "Maybe I need an underage drink."

"Cat. _I can help you_," she repeated.

"You've helped enough," I said, reaching to open my door.

She locked it from the control panel on her side of the car with a proud smile on her face. Good for her, she'd finally figured out how to work something in her vehicle. "Let me out."

"No. I can help you think of a plan to get you out of this mess. I am going to help you and I am going to make it up to you. You're my best friend, Cat. Get that through your head. You can trust me, I swear," she pleaded.

And so I believed.

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><p><strong>All right, guys, this is important. CHOOSE THE ENDING PLEASE. By the time you've finished reading this, there will be a poll on my profile as to how I should end this story. Your options will be: A.) <strong>_**Just make it all a dream sequence**_** or B.) **_**You can think of a better ending, Summer.**_** The choice is yours. If you care to dwell deeper on this, you may contact me at **** robbieshapiroh on tumblr****. Enjoy, and please do take part.**


	26. Update

i hope you guys know that the only reason i stopped updating this is because i had no idea where i was freaking going with it like honestly i got just as lost as the rest of you and i think about this story everyday and i don't know how to fix it i'm so sorry


	27. Bulletproof

**Here's my attempt to fix the mess I made. Kinda like Cat. I reread this story from the prologue, which felt very weird, and I think I know what I was aiming to do when I started writing this. I meant to showcase all the amazing bonds in this fantastic show, ones that I favor and ones that I don't. But I also wanted to impress you all with this insane plot that is literally AU. I started this story in 8th grade, when Victorious was at its peak. Here I am, starting my sophomore year of high school in two days, this beautiful series long gone. And the only thing I can do to tie in ends for my own selfish good is to finish this story and give it the proper ending that the show didn't get. So let's go again. **

**Here is the conclusion to this story that seemed to never end. **

Trusting Tori was a big step for me. I did it just the night before and she betrayed me. Here I was again, totally putting my heart and_ life_ on the line. I knew exactly what I wanted her to do. I wanted her to be an executioner. Not the kind that chops off the heads of our fellow men, but an executioner in the sense of my own definition. An executioner according to I, Cat Valentine, is someone who plays with lives. This person takes the orders of those around her and puts them into action. Tori fit the bill perfectly. We needed an executioner around here.

As Tori drove to Robbie's house under my order, I was almost certain she would snap right then and there. I mean, we'd all snapped. I had blacked out, Robbie face-planted into the floor. I was almost positive Beck was having a meltdown as I was having these thoughts. Now that Tori was involved (it was her own fault), why shouldn't she join the "I'm-Going-To-Have-A-Premature-Heart-Attack-Right- Now" Club? It's not the greatest after school activity, but we're all friends there.

"Are you still, like... Mad at me?" Tori asked, still looking over the expanse of road ahead of her. "I mean, for telling Beck?"

"No," I replied. And it was the truth. I'd been mad at Tori for a lot of things before, sure. But telling Beck truly was in everyone's best interest. I was mad that she'd gone against my request. I wasn't mad at her for the deed she chose. I decided that a simple one-worded response was best.

We pulled into the Shapiro estate driveway and entered the cluttered house.

"Robbie!" I called.

His skinny silhouette rounded the corner of the one hallway. He kept his distance from me.

"Hey, you're back," he noted.

"I am," I confirmed.

It wasn't long after I saw Robbie in his monstrous look that I realized I, too, was a disaster. I'd just have to worry about it later. Right now we were getting down to the nitty-gritty.

"Is Beck still here?" I asked hopefully. I needed him and it was extremely important.

Robbie took a few steps toward me, running his hand through his hair. He looked nervous.

"Yeah, Cat, he's here, but-"

"Oh good!" I exclaimed, walking in the direction of the hallway.

"Cat, wait," Robbie grabbed my arm before I rounded the corner.

He must have seriously needed to tell me something.

I looked back at Tori, still standing by the door. "You... Stay," I demanded. What else could I say, really? Make yourself comfortable?

Robbie pulled me into the hallway and whispered in hushed tones. "He's mad."

I sighed. "Well of course he is. I'd be angry too if I found out I had two genera-"

"No, Cat," he interrupted. "He's... gone mad. He's insane."

My eyes widened at the realization. So many thoughts went through my mind. I knew insanity. I saw it in the face of my brother. And it doesn't just exist in stories. it's very real. I raced towards the room where I heard the muddled screaming which I could only assume was Beck's. I opened the door, keeping my distance. As I peered inside, I saw a frightful sight. Beck was tied to a wooden chair, a rag tied around his mouth. I turned to Robbie, bewildered by how he managed to do that.

"We're all mad here," I whispered, quoting my favorite fairytale.

I took a step into the room, walking towards the struggling man. Robbie grabbed my arm lightly, not wanting me to get hurt. I looked at his hand around my small wrist, and then at his eyes. _It's all right_, I mouthed, giving him a slight smile.

His entire face seemed to relax at my grin and he loosened his grip. I walked closer to my father, kicking and yelling. I quickly darted behind him and untied the rag so he could talk. His scream filled the room immediately, and many more screams after that. We waited at least five minutes for the screams to stop, thanking God that Tori obeyed my request to "Stay."

When the kicking stopped, I stood in front of him, bending down to look in his eyes. I made sure he looked into mine.

I started to speak gently, not wanting to distract his trance. "It's me. It's Cat. And everything's going to be all right. Okay?"

The coldness in his eyes faded. His nostrils ceased to flare and his grimace transformed into a look of desperation to be free. Keeping my eyes locked on to his, I reached behind his back to untie the mess of knots holding his arms behind him. With the final unraveling of a loop, his arms wrapped around my back, standing up as he did. I did the same, burying my face in his neck. I felt a tear escape his eye, streaming down my red hair. More tears followed suit, followed by many audible sobs. My father, the strongest man I know, was crying on my shoulder.

"I love you so much, Cat," he choked, gripping me tighter. "Please don't leave. Please don't. Please."

I locked eyes with Robbie over my dad's shoulder. He looked like he was a loss for what to say, what to think. I, however, knew exactly what to think.

Beck grabbed my shoulders and stood me face to face with him. "I have a d-"

He struggled for what to say. "You're my..."

"Yes," I said quickly. I wouldn't call him dad and break down into waterworks. The moisture in my eyes was enough, and I was on a business trip. "I'm your daughter, and you're my father, and you need to listen to me, okay?"

He nodded vehemently, prepared for whatever it was I had to say.

I took a deep breath. "Whatever you do, do not go near Jade."

"No, Cat," he said. "You were right the whole time, I love her more than anything and I need to go back to her, beg to get her back and-"

"NO. Not now! I know what you need to do and you can't do that, okay?" If he did that, everything would be ruined. Everything. "Now come with me," I said, walking out the door.

As Robbie and Beck followed me back into the living room where Tori waited, I slowly lined up all the transpiring events in my head. My plan was slowly starting to come together. It seemed bulletproof, and I honestly hoped it was. I don't know how I'd deal with a block in my path.

I walked towards the tall, slim girl, patiently waiting. "Great, you're still here," I said. "You're the executioner."

Everyone else in the room shared a confused glance, and I allowed it.

"Let me explain. Tori, tonight and tonight only, you are in charge of multiple lives. You are in charge of my life, Robbie's life, Beck's life, Jade's life, my brother's life, and your own life. If you mess up, it is 100% on your own conscience and I'm not going to humor you. Are we clear?"

She stammered and looked at the boys hopelessly. "Yes," she breathed. "We're clear."

"Great," I said, tying a sweatshirt jacket around my small waist, "Everybody. In Tori's car."


End file.
